Odisha: Assembly shut till July 31 after five staffers test +ve
BHUBANESWAR: The state assembly will remain shut till July-end after five of its employees tested positive for Covid-19. It will reopen on August 4 as the first three days of the subsequent month are public holidays.
Talking to media persons on Friday, speaker Surya Narayan Patro said the entire assembly premises will be sanitized now and entry to the House will be restricted.
“After Nilagiri MLA Sukanta Nayak, who had attended a standing committee meeting, tested positive, the swab samples of all other MLAs who were present on the occasion were tested. I have also asked the employees of the state assembly, who were there during the meeting, to get their swab samples tested. The samples of around 12 employees were collected for testing three days ago, while the reports of five returned positive,” Patro said.
The Speaker said those who have tested positive have been asked to remain in home isolation, while their contacts are being traced. The swab samples of other employees, who came in contact with the Covid positive persons, will be sent for test in the next few days, he added.
The standing committee meeting was held on the assembly premises on July 2. After the Nilagiri MLA, Salipur MLA Prashant Kumar Behera had also tested positive. Both Nayak and Behera have recovered from the infection. The swab samples of other MLAs, including chairman of the committee Debi Prasad Mishra, also tested negative.
Earlier in March, the staff of the state assembly were asked to remain in home quarantine after it was found that a Covid-19 positive patient of Bhubaneswar had visited the House dispensary and came in contact with one employee. The entire assembly building was also sanitized and a daylong assembly session was held in the newly-constructed state convention centre to pass the Appropriation Bill.