Twenty-four members of the Lok Sabha tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on the first day of Parliament’s monsoon session, secretariat officials told the Hindustan Times on Monday. Junior Railway Minister Suresh Angadi, BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde, Parvesh Sahib Singh, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Kaushal Kishore were among the 24 MPs who contracted the viral disease.
The Lok Sabha members positive for Covid-19 have informed the secretariat about their health status.
The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, considered the most accurate for diagnosing coronavirus disease, would continue until next week for members of Parliament, officials said.
As the viral disease continues to pose a threat to the session, many high-ranking deputies, crossing political lines, have decided not to attend the proceedings.
On the first day of the delayed session which was attended by 359 members, about 200 were present in the Lok Sabha chamber and just over 30 were seated in the visitor’s gallery above the main chamber. Plastic shields were installed in front of the members’ benches to ensure distance.
A giant television screen in the Lok Sabha chamber showed very few members occupying seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber, the other place where the lower house deputies have stayed in keeping with the rules of physical distancing.
Banks that generally accommodate six members had a numbered seating plan for just three.
The Parliament session takes place in two shifts, the Rajya Sabha in the morning and the Lok Sabha in the afternoon, with members of both Houses divided into the two chambers and galleries. However, on the opening day, the Lok Sabha was held in the morning shift and the Rajya Sabha in the afternoon.
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