Maldives' parliament resumes sittings at chamber

Parliament sittings have been resumed at the official chambers in the parliament house on Tuesday after taking safety and precautionary measures.

Following the declaration of a public health emergency due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives, the meetings were held virtually.

Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Monday said the sittings will resume at the official chambers starting Tuesday. The health authority granted permission to hold the parliamentary sittings at the chamber conditioning to take precautionary measures.

Health Protection Agency (HPA)’s instructions are as follow:
• To check the body temperature of all members and ensure the members are not having fever before entering the chamber
• Not to let any member with symptoms of COVID-19 enter the chamber
• To keep 3 feet distance between one another
• Keeping soap or hand sanitiser at the chamber
• Disinfecting the desks, and computers or the devices that are being used
• To follow the general instructions of the coronavirus precautionary measures
• Not to organise a meeting that requires physical presence unless it is necessary

Tuesday’s meeting was held by keeping social distance and taking safety precautions. In that regard, unlike the previous meetings, two members were not allowed to sit together, and only 42 members were allowed to sit in the chamber at a time. When the meeting commenced on Tuesday, there were 47 members present at the sitting. Among them, 42 members were sitting at the chamber desks while the others sat away from the desks.

In the opening remarks of the meeting, the speaker of the parliament Mohamed Nasheed said five members were unable to attend the meeting as their houses were under the monitoring of the health authorities, and five members were on sick leave.

The current lockdown imposed on the capital Male’ City will come to an end on Thursday. The government is yet to decide whether to extend the lockdown. However, it has been indicated that there will be some relief on the restrictions imposed due to the lockdown.