Suspend Parliament meetings for two weeks, says Noor Hisham

 

PETALING JAYA: All meetings at Parliament House should be suspended for two weeks starting from Thursday, said health director general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a statement today, he said the suspension was necessary based on the current risk assessment by the ministry and to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from occurring at Parliament.

His statement comes a day after a meeting of the Dewan Rakyat scheduled for Monday was postponed indefinitely. The house had been called to meet on July 26-29 and Aug 2.

Earlier today, the secretary of the Dewan Negara said the special sitting of the Senate on Aug 3-5 had also been postponed indefinitely.

Monday’s sitting of the house had been indefinitely postponed in line with the health ministry’s risk analysis after 11 Covid-19 cases were detected by the health ministry at Parliament House.

Noor Hisham said the health ministry had recommended that all meeting sessions, including select committee meetings and presentations planned to be held at Parliament House from July 26-29 be temporarily suspended for two weeks from July 29.

He said Parliament House was deemed to be a high-risk venue for the transmission of Covid-19, taking into account epidemiological and environmental factors, even though the positivity rate of Covid-19 cases detected was only 0.8%.

He also noted that not everyone at Parliament House had completed both vaccine doses.

Among the factors include the fact that many senior citizens attend sittings of Parliament and who may be at risk of comorbidities that increase the risk of infection.

Other factors include the enclosed areas within the building, the lengthy daily sessions of the Dewan Rakyat,as well as the sharing of basic facilities such as toilets, prayer rooms and cafes.

“The risk assessment of Covid-19 infections at Parliament will be reevaluated from time to time,” the statement said. - FMT