Bhubaneswar: All MLAs will undergo antigen tests for COVID-19 to attend the second phase of the ensuing Budget Session of the Odisha Assembly that will begin from March 12.
The members who will test negative will be allowed to enter the House and take part in the Assembly proceedings, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro said.
"During first phase of the budget session, MLAs and Assembly staff had undergone RT-PCR test. Those who had tested negative for the Covid-19 were allowed to attend the session and the members with positive report had stayed away from the House. This time, there will be antigen test for all the members and staff, the report of which will come out within five or ten minutes," Patro added.
A temporary camp will be set up in the assembly premises for conducting tests of all MLAs, their personal security officers, drivers, assembly staff and ministerial employees.
The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to check the spread of the virus, he said. Appropriate Covid-19 behavior will be adhered to strictly on the Assembly campus.
Even though Covid-19 situation in Odisha is under control, precautionary measures have been taken to prevent its resurgence as the virus made a comeback in several other States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, Odisha registered 57 Covid-19 positive cases in last 24 hours.
Among the new cases, 34 are quarantine and 23 local contacts. With the fresh cases, the total number of positive cases in Odisha mounted to 337860.