The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, says “every Member of Parliament should have been tested” for the novel coronavirus by now.
Akandoh said this in disagreement of the recall of Members of Parliament in the wake of the surge in COVID-19 case in Ghana.
Speaking to Citi News, the Juaboso MP said the MPs needed a lot of measures to be put in place because “we are also potential carriers of the virus.”
He also said Parliament needed to be mindful of social distancing guidelines because of the number of MPs.
“If you say we should not gather more than 25 and 275 of us gather in the same chamber without ensuring social distancing, the government’s posture will not be seen as we are serious unless there are pragmatic measures put in place to ensure social distancing.”
Mr. Akandoh also suggested that “either they call us to come and deal with specific issues and then we go back.”
“We travel more than anybody in this country. It should not be as though we are superhuman beings. I think if indeed we are going to be called to do a specific business, I do not have a problem. But sitting as though there is nothing at stake, I vehemently oppose that idea.”
Parliament adjourned sittings on May 1, 2020, after a series of emergency meetings necessitated by the pandemic.
As Thursday, [14th April, 2020] Ghana’s novel coronavirus cases have risen to 5,530 with recoveries also rising to 674.
