Speaker of parliament Mohamed Nasheed has said that it is time to open the borders of the Maldives and live with the ‘new normal’ owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the declaration of a public health emergency amid COVID-19, the parliament sittings were halted. After that, from March 31 onward, the meetings were held through web conference. However, on Tuesday, a parliament sitting was held at the parliament chambers after taking safety precautions.
When the meeting commenced on Tuesday, there were 47 members present in the sitting. Among them, 42 members were sitting at desks of the chamber while the others sat away from the desks. The members were wearing masks and kept social distance.
Speaking at the sitting, Speaker Nasheed said even with the challenges of the public health crisis, the parliament members are doing an extremely hard job and that the public acknowledges it. He added that the parliament members are the leaders who have to be role models to the public in such situations.
Nasheed said if the parliament sitting were not held in the chambers, then there would have been several challenges to working on the required legal changes to the laws. He said that the society must learn to live with the virus by following the ‘new normal’ protocols and said parliamentarians must lead the public by example.
“We know that the country has to open its borders and live with the virus. There are no better people than the parliament members to set an example for the public. The members are the public’s representatives. We sit here on behalf of the public”, said Speaker Nasheed.
Some have questioned if the parliament could hold a meeting while a lockdown was still in place and while the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has not permitted to hold the sitting. However, after the questions were raised, HPA permitted to hold the meeting with some conditions.
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
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.
