Parliament to shut down for two weeks to curb the spread of Covid-19

Parliament will shut down for two weeks over COVID-19 situation in Uganda.

 

According to a statement released on Tuesday by the office of the Clerk to Parliament, the closure will start on Monday 28, 2021 and go on until Sunday July 11, 2021.

 

The shutdown is in a bid to disinfect parliamentary facilities to prevent infecting the Members of Parliament, the entity explained.

 

'You will recall that Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament adjourned the House since Monday June 14, 2021,' the statement said, adding: 'Parliament of Uganda, like the rest of the country, has been affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with a positivity  rate of 17.1 percent.'

 

'(Therefore) as a mitigating measure in prevention of  infections, the administration of Parliament in consultation with the Office of the Speaker is closing Parliament to Hon. Members of Parliament for a period of two weeks in order to disinfect the Parliament building.'

 

The development comes as the country registered 722 infections in one day. The results released on Tuesday by Ministry of Health take Uganda's cumulative COVID-19 figures to 73,401.

 

However, the number of the dead from the virus jumped up again, despite steadily dropping in the last few days. With 34 people confirmed to have died in a 24-hour period, up from 20, it means that the country has cumulatively registered 714 deaths from the disease since the first death was recorded in the country in July last year.