Stephen Tsang, member of the COVID-19 Parliamentary Committee, is deeply concerned about the current circumstances under which The National Assembly (DNA) will meet on Thursday. The NDP assembly members have been summoned for Thursday for a domestic and public meeting with general political considerations as the agenda item, even before there is any clarity about their safety and that of the staff and other people present in DNA.

“It is a pity that the requested public meeting about the dire COVID-19 situation in our country is not yet on the agenda of the House of the People. I think we all agree that the COVID meeting takes precedence over the APB,” said the COVID committee member.

According to Tsang, there are not yet enough safety valves in place to participate in such meetings in a responsible and dignified manner, while the country is in code purple. For example, according to him, there is still no clarity about the redesign of the meeting room, so that each member can adequately fulfill the task that it has had under the Constitution.

The Speaker of Parliament states that members can follow the meeting from the group room, so that there are no large groups of people together. However, the spaces in the fraction rooms do not comply with the COVID-19 precautions and there are no options yet to participate effectively in the meetings from the fraction room or elsewhere. The distribution key also plays an important role. It should not be the case that 70 percent of its members are present in the room on the part of the coalition and 30 percent of the opposition. There has to be a balance, says Tsang.

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