Covid-19: Ahead of session, 5 Gujarat Assembly staff test positive

Five out of 506 people who were tested for novel coronavirus ahead of the five-day session of the Gujarat Assembly starting on Monday have been detected with the infection, officials said on Saturday.

Covid-19 tests were conducted on Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and 505 staff members of the Assembly over the past two days, and five had been found to be infected, a release said.

It added that Trivedi had tested negative, while those whose reports returned positive comprised two staff members and three security personnel.

"As per the direction of Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi, on September 18 and 19, all Vidhan Sabha officers, employees, security branch personnel, Class III employees, sweepers, police, totalling 506 people, were tested for Covid- 19 through rapid antigen test," it said.

Covid-19 tests will also be conducted on all 172 legislators on Sunday before they are allowed entry into the Assembly building to attend the session, Health Minister Nitin Patel said.

Media personnel covering Assembly proceedings will also have to get Covid-19 negative certificates to gain access to the building, Patel said on Saturday.