Dewan sitting cut short to reduce exposure to virus, says health DG

 

The parliamentary session will last six weeks. (Bernama pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Dewan Rakyat meeting today was cut short to reduce the risk of MPs and Parliament staff members being infected by Covid-19.

Speaking at a press conference today, he said the shortened hours at Parliament meant there was less exposure to the virus in a confined and crowded space.

“If you look into the advisory, it says to avoid crowded places and confined spaces. In crowded places, the longer you are exposed, the higher the chances are to get infected, if there is a positive case (in the area).”

Noor Hisham said Covid-19 screening had been conducted on all MPs and Parliament staff three days before the Dewan Rakyat began. Such tests led to Senator Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi’s special officer being found positive for Covid-19.

He said 12 close contacts of the aide had been identified so far. All of them are currently undergoing quarantine as they await the test results.

Noor Hisham said an auxiliary policeman had also tested positive for the virus, with close contact screenings detecting four other Covid-19 cases.

A media worker also tested positive and seven of his family members have been screened.

Despite these screenings, Noor Hisham said the risk of infection was always present as MPs and Parliament staff could be asymptomatic or bring the virus in from the community.

“The parliamentary session will last six weeks. This means for six weeks, they will be exposed to the virus outside. We don’t know who is positive or who is the carrier, unless we test them every two weeks.”

He urged everyone in the Dewan Rakyat to comply with the SOPs and ensure they practised physical distancing of up to one metre, washed their hands frequently and wore their masks properly.

The Dewan Rakyat ended its sitting at 1pm instead of 5.30pm today after it was revealed that the Dewan Negara staff member had tested positive for Covid-19.

The announcement came after speaker Azhar Harun held a meeting with 10 MPs about half-an-hour after the house reconvened at 10am.

De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the decision was made under Standing Order 12 (1) due to Covid-19 and that the sitting times will be decided daily. - FMT