Parliament is set to close for two weeks starting Monday, June 28, 2021 as Uganda battles the second wave of COVID-19.
This according to a June 22nd communication addressed to members of parliament by Henry Waiswa, the Deputy Clerk to Parliament in charge of Corporate Affairs.
According to the notice to all legislators and members of staff, the second wave of Covid-19 has affected parliament with a positivity rate of 17 percent and as a mitigating measure in the prevention of the infection, the administration of parliament in consultation with the office of the Speaker is closing parliament for a period of two weeks in order to disinfect the parliamentary building.
Waiswa says the notice will take effect from Monday, 28th June 2021 to Sunday, 11 July 2021, saying all MPs are advised to adhere to the instruction.
Just last week, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Parliament, Chris Obore said that more than 100 of the over 3,000 people tested for COVID-19 to attend the different Parliamentary events in June tested positive.
The decision to suspend the house comes a week after the Deputy Speaker, Anita Among adjourned the House sine die on Monday last week shortly after the approval of Vice President Jessica Alupo and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
According to data from the Health Ministry, Uganda has registered 73,409 positive COVID-19 cases with 722 more cases and 34 deaths confirmed on June 22, 2021.
