COVID-19: Parliament to sanction MPs and staff who refuse Covid-19 test

Parliament is to sanction Members of Parliament (MPs) and staff of Parliament who refuse to undertake the ongoing mandatory coronavirus disease (Covid-19 ) test.

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye gave the warning on Tuesday, reports Graphic Online’s parliamentary reporter, Nana Konadu Agyeman.

Last week Parliament started an exercise to test all MPs and staff of the Parliamentary Service for COVID-19.

The exercise forms part of measures to stop the spread of the infection among legislators and staff of the legislative body.

Addressing the House Tuesday, the Speaker warned that any MP or staff who refuses to undertake the mandatory test would be sanctioned.

It has been agreed that results of the tests will not be made public.

Rather they will be communicated to the individual MPs and appropriate action taken where necessary.

But following a media report suggesting that some MPs and parliamentary service staff have tested positive for the disease (Covid-19), the leadership of Parliament at a press conference on Tuesday denied it.

According to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu the media report was “speculative journalism,”

Source: Graphic