House Speaker concerned about “institutional spread” of COVID-19

House Speaker concerned about “institutional spread” of COVID-19
The House of Assembly.

Only seven of the 17 HOA staffers have tested for the virus since September 9 exposure

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie yesterday expressed concerns about the possibility of institutional spread of COVID-19 in the House of Assembly after another member of Parliament tested positive for the virus.

He once again recommended for all parliamentarians to test for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution.

“We’ve had one new member of Parliament [who] tested positive and that brings the count now to four parliamentarians — three in the House of Assembly and one in the Senate that have tested positive,” Moultrie told Eyewitness News.

“So, in respect to the institution, it is six persons, four parliamentarians and two staff members.

“The most recent parliamentarian, I think tested positive in the interval between the 16th and the 23rd of September.

“I think I got information with respect to the third member of Parliament on the 18th or 19th of September.

“And so, we are very concerned because there could be possible, the institutional spread of the virus, but we have taken the necessary precautionary measures in that number one, we have asked a number of members that would attend each sitting, to be limited to approximately 15 members.

“And we are able to get the proper physical distancing with that amount of members attending.

“Of course, that raises other issues because members have a constitutional right to attend.”

It was confirmed two weeks ago that a House staffer tested positive for the virus.

Another staffer subsequently tested positive for the virus.

Following the September 9 exposure, Moultrie, the Deputy Speaker Don Saunders, and Chief Clerk of the House David Forbes tested negative.

At the time, the Cabinet Office advised that anyone who came into contact with the worker for more than 15 minutes without following preventative measures such as wearing a mask and maintaining a physical distance will be required to quarantine.

Yesterday, the speaker said due to challenges staffers had with the online payment process for testing at Doctors Hospital and other financial impediments, 10 of the 17 staffers at the House had yet to be tested.

“When I discovered that a member of the staff tested positive, I took it upon myself as a speaker to get a test, and even though my test came back negative, I quarantined myself because I believe we should lead by example,” he said.

“I believe that when you impose any condition of any citizen, you had better be prepared to impose it on yourself.”

Moultrie was unable to say whether the parliamentarian in question attended the House last week.

The House is set to meet today to deal with proposed legislation concerning the independence of the judiciary.

A September 9 draft resolution obtained by Eyewitness News, recommends the House “agree to a hybrid arrangement for the sittings”, including virtual participation and using an alternative location for parliamentary proceedings.

Yesterday, Moultrie said the government had not responded to the resolution.

He said while there may be some reluctance to adopting the hybrid measures, members have a right to attend.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.