Amid COVID-19 outbreak, 5-day Guj Assembly session begins

Speaker Rajendra Trivedi ordered seating changes to stop any chances of the virus spreading, with one MLA occupying one bench, while several legislators have been given seats in the visitors' galleries. Coronavirus tests for reporters covering the House proceedings have been made free of cost by the state government.

The five-day session of the Gujarat Assembly began on Monday amid precautions for the coronavirus outbreak. Staffers, legislators and mediapersons who will cover proceedings have been tested for the infection, while entry for outsiders has been banned.

Four MLAs, comprising three from the Congress and one from BJP, have been detected with the infection, and so have some Assembly personnel in tests conducted over the past couple of days. Speaker Rajendra Trivedi ordered seating changes to stop any chances of the virus spreading, with one MLA occupying one bench, while several legislators have been given seats in the visitors' galleries.

Coronavirus tests for reporters covering the House proceedings have been made free of cost by the state government. There will be no question hour as top officials in the administration are on tour statewide to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Legislators can, however, raise "short notice questions" to seek answers from the government. The Vijay Rupani government had earlier announced that some 20 bills will be tabled during the session.