Report reaching this portal indicates that not less than eight Members of Parliament (MPs) have tested positive for the deadly Covid-19.
This came to light after some of them showed signs of the disease and the Speaker, Alban Bagbin made it compulsory for all MPs to take Covid-19 test, especially in view of the recent Covid-19 deaths.
According to the report, the eight confirmed cases are split equally among both majority and minority sides but their names were not mentioned for fear of stigmatisation.
The outcome of the test among the few members who have gone through the exercise prompted the Speaker to issue a ‘fatwa’ against those who are unwilling to take the Covid-19 test.
Reports say less than a third of the membership of the House have so far taken the test.
Speaker Bagbin, on Friday extended the three-day exercise to Tuesday, Febrary 2, 2021 after confirming that some of the MPs have been infected, warning them and the staff to adhere strictly to the safety protocols.
“Even in the House some members are afflicted by the Covid-19,” he said.
“You may not know who the person is and because of the protocol issues of confidentiality, we are not disclosing those who are now Covid-19 victims. But we have some of us in that category,” Speaker Bagbin said.
The Speaker said the House had arranged with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to use three days for the exercise, but noted that: “The three days are over but I am reliably informed that a number of our members have not yet taken the opportunity to either do the screening or to even undergo the Covid-19 test.”
Despite the reminder, some members still were reluctant to go for the mandatory test and the Speaker reminded the House to pay heed to the protocols.
“Members should take the protocols seriously. In fact when I was entering I myself had to signal some members to respect the physical distancing,” the Speaker said.
—DGN Online
