Govt seals Parliament House after 30 staffers test positive for coronavirus

(Karachi) The government has sealed the Parliament House after at least 30 of the two houses' employees tested positive for coronavirus, media reported on Wednesday. The building would remain closed until November 9.

As per details, more than 20 officials of the Senate and eight of the National Assembly staff have been infected with coronavirus last week. They have been shifted to hospitals and some placed under quarantine.

In wake of the corona cases, the meetings of the standing committees of the Senate and National Assembly have been cancelled and they are being rescheduled.

Meanwhile, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been assigned the responsibility of disinfecting the building, while Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar, and several other officials have self-isolated themselves and are working from home.

Earlier, NA Speaker Asad Qaisar and his family had tested positive for the coronavirus; they recovered in less than a month.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan could not afford to go for another coronavirus lockdown despite officials monitoring the pandemic warning that the second wave of COVID-19 has already hit the country.

He said the provincial governments needed to ensure the implementation of the Trace, Test & Quarantine (TTQ) and smart lockdown strategies pertaining to the coronavirus.

The premier urged everyone to strictly follow the preventive measures against the novel coronavirus.