Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has upgraded his directive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in Parliament.
He has now ordered all Members of Parliament, the staff of the Parliamentary Service Board and members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) to undergo mandatory testing for the disease.
Failure to get tested, he warned would attract sanctions and urged members to undergo the testing before the House starts applying sanctions.
Speaker Mike Oquaye gave the order on Tuesday 26th May 2020 and indicated that elaborate steps are being taken to ensure the observation of all appropriate protocols in the light of results.
Parliament last week organized voluntary testing for MPs, Staff, and the media as part of efforts to stem the tide of the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Speaker insisted the testing is now mandatory for every MP, the staff of Parliament, and PPC members.
He said, “Further to the test taken last week it is imperative to inform that we should take this matter very seriously. In this connection on Thursday and on Friday, the team has been recalled to parliament.
“They will come back right here to test members, staff and the media etc.”
“The decision is that in our collective interest it is mandatory. Don’t wait to the state of applying sanctions,” he warned.
The new move by Parliament is to ensure effective contact tracing after reports suggest two MPs and 13 staff have tested positive for the disease.
Medical Director for Parliament, Dr. Prince Pambo, who addressed the media on the testing, however, indicated that he was not aware of such information.
He, however, argued it should not be surprising if an MP has the virus because there are nearly 7,000 Ghanaians who have contracted it.
Parliament, however, moved to quash the reports insisting the results of the testing in Parliament are not yet known and so any report on it is false.
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According to a release by the Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo, the confidentiality protocol is that those who test positive will be called directly by the testing team.
She said, “Officially, Parliament is unaware of any such call and therefore haven’t been any official figures giving by the National COVID-19 response team.”
She assured the public that Parliament remains committed to ensuring the safety and avoidance of the possible spread of the disease on its premises.
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Frontpageghana.com/Uthman A. Marani
