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Party leaders meet tomorrow as more test positive for COVID in parliament
With five MPs and several members of the Parliament staff testing positive for COVID-19 inside two weeks, a special party leaders’ meeting has been convened for 11 a.m. tomorrow to decide on whether to proceed with next week’s scheduled Parliament sittings.
Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena called the meeting as the country’s COVID situation worsened and more MPs tested positive for the virus.
State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera became the latest MP to test positive for COVID-19 on Friday. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Matale District MP Rohana Dissanayake, SLPP Badulla District MP Tissa Kuttiarachchi and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Hambantota District MP Dilip Wedaarachchi also tested positive.
In addition, several Parliament staff members and police officers too have tested positive with some sections in Parliament, including the medical centre being closed down and disinfected. These sections have now been reopened.
Parliament is scheduled to meet over four days next week, with sittings to be held from Tuesday to Friday. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena however, told the Sunday Times yesterday that it was “highly unlikely” that sittings will be held over all four days given the current situation.
In the event sittings are held, it is likely to be limited to one or two days.
Among items listed on Parliament’s agenda for next week are the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) (Temporary Provisions) Bill (Second Reading), Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Bill (Second Reading), Registration of Electors (Amendment) Bill (Second Reading) and an adjournment debate on “Current issues in the field of Education in Sri Lanka,” which is to be moved by the opposition.
Meanwhile, Parliament officials are analysing CCTV footage to identify any close contacts of State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera, who had attended Parliament sittings on August 3 and 4, Serjeant-at-Arms Narendra Fernando told the Sunday Times.