By Minahil Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: Ten more employees of the National Assembly tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday.
The test results were sent to the assembly by the National Institute of Health in Islamabad. The report states that in the last three days, more than 30 employees of the assembly have been diagnosed with the deadly virus.
The reports have also been sent to Speaker Asad Qaiser. They include the names of all the people, including employees and parliamentarians, who were recently tested. A session of the National Assembly and Senate has been scheduled on Friday.
Owing to the COVID-19 spread, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has excused himself from attending the session.
He has been adamant that virtual assembly sessions should be held to ensure the security of the MNAs
“In the last week several parliamentarians have tested positive and we have lost five members to the virus,†Chaudhry said, adding that these times called for greater precautionary measures.
In the last week, Pakistan has reported a record number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Since Pakistan began testing in March, more than 87,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 1,816 have lost their lives.
