As the MPs return to the parliament floor for the first time since the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives, Speaker of the Parliament, the former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that today’s sitting is being held in line with the instructions from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Addressing the concerns of lawmakers attending the sitting with safety measures such as social distancing and wearing facemasks, Speaker Nasheed assured that the sitting is being carried out with the instructions of HPA.

During the debates, several members had pointed out the difficulties of speaking while wearing masks. However, the Speaker noted that the lawmakers will get used to it in no time.

Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim had noted that while the first letter sent to the parliament by HPA did not of wearing masks, the second letter did not mention any such and so he had requested permission for members who do not wish to wear masks to be granted.

Speaker Nasheed did not entertain this thought.

Safety measures to be taken for parliament sittings as dictated by the HPA are; temperature checks before being allowed inside the parliament chamber, banning of any lawmaker with COVID-19 symptoms from the sitting, establishing a 3 feet distance between each lawmaker during movement in and out of the chamber as well as the provision of sanitizers for those who participate in the sitting.

In addition to this, they had called for the disinfection of common areas which experiences the greatest number of movements each day.