Members of Parliament (MPs) will require COVID-19 negative reports of themselves, their family members and other close contacts to attend the upcoming monsoon session, beginning September 14.
According to detailed guidelines issued by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats, the close contacts of MPs include personal assistant (PA), personal secretary (PS), driver and maid. The COVID-19 test of the MPs need to be done 72 hours before the start of the session and it can be done either in their constituencies or at the Parliament complex.
“In case a member is found to be negative, she/he can attend the session…. In case a member is found positive, she/he will have to go for institutional isolation/hospitalisation as per advice of doctor and as per patient/clinical management protocol,” according to the guidelines.
The guidelines further say for safety purposes, MPs’ family and staff members can undergo COVID-19 test on the Parliament premises as well. If a family member of an MP or PA/PS/driver/maid is found COVID-19 positive, then the parliamentarian is in high risk zone and has to go for quarantine for 14 days from the last day of their contact. Besides this, the secretariats of both houses in the nine-page guidelines have also emphasised on wearing mask, maintaining physical distance of six feet, keeping hands clean during the session.