(Trinidad Express) The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate have laid down new rules for unvaccinated parliamentarians.
In an announcement at the start of yesterday’s sitting, Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George said unvaccinated Members will be required to double-mask at all times while in the parliamentary precincts and in the Chamber. In such case, the outer mask must be black.
She said other Members wishing to double-mask and Members wishing to wear a face shield in addition to their black mask may do so.
The Speaker said all unvaccinated Members who wish to make a contribution, regardless of the length, will be required to utilise the speaking booths.
She said as more data becomes available on the numbers of vaccinated Members, there will be an ongoing evaluation of risks, with a view to adopting a path to normalcy.
“In an effort to assess our risks, I had previously requested the Leader of the House and the Opposition Whip to provide data related to the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated Members.
“Although I am in receipt of some data, the data available is not yet sufficient to determine full(y), the new measures which can be considered and adopted on a path to normalcy,” she said.
She said “in the absence of full information regarding the number of Members vaccinated”, the current stipulation that the number of Members in the Chamber be limited to eight Government and six Opposition, remains.
For the public gallery a maximum of five media personnel, all of whom must be vaccinated and masked, will be allowed.
All other previous Covid protocols remain in force.
Annisette-George stressed that no Member—unvaccinated or vaccinated—was being barred from the parliamentary complex and/or from the Chamber, but measures were being put in place to protect all Members and staff in the execution of their constitutional obligations.
The Speaker noted that in many quarters of the world, including in Trinidad and Tobago, citizens expressed fatigue with the various measures introduced in response to the virus, and that the emergence of several vaccines may have fed a groundswell for a return to normalcy.
Noting that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had advised that vaccination offered a path to normalcy, the Speaker said it was her hope for the return to normalcy of parliamentary operations.