Twenty-five Members of Parliament tested positive for coronavirus last week, but nine of them had previously tested positive a month ago and had been considered recovered.
The chairperson for the Parliamentary portfolio committee on health Dr Ruth Labode, who is also Matabeleland North MP, on Tuesday, raised a point of privilege on Parliament’s testing and isolation policies.
Labode asserted that some people who would have earlier tested positive will likely retain a positive result because of the presence of antibodies in their systems.
She said the people may no longer be infected or infectious and therefore, there was no need to continue isolating such people. Said Labode:
My concern is that 25 MPs tested positive and among those, there were about nine or so who had already tested positive four weeks ago and isolated.
Parliament guidelines require that legislators are tested after every two weeks and those who test positive, will immediately go into isolation for 14 days.
Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda confirmed that 25 MPs had tested positive for coronavirus during last week’s round of testing including those who had tested positive before.
He, however, revealed that Parliament will continue isolating all those who test positive, including those who test positive for a second time.