The government will not be able to attend the special session today to address the measures it has taken to counter the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), said a minister yesterday. Speaking to KUNA, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al-Rajhi affirmed that the Cabinet (and the Ministry of Health in specific) was eager to answer MPs’ inquires on the government’s COVID-19 countermeasures. However, its request to postpone the session for another date was refused.

He added that recent COVID-19 developments and the increase in infection rates required the full attention of the ministry to minimize virus exposure - noting that the Cabinet asked the parliament’s leadership to coordinate with MPs to postpone the session for a few days to enable the ministry to fully address the lawmakers’ inquiries. Al-Rajhi reaffirmed that the government was keen on informing the public on the measures to counter COVID-19 in a date agreed upon later.

The National Assembly’s special session would be focusing on a parliamentary request to review the Cabinet’s measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 and also travel restriction during the pandemic. The decisions made by the emergency health committee and the Health Ministry would be put under parliamentary scrutiny in light of the recent global trend, which is geared towards viewing COVID-19 as an endemic. Restrictions on the unvaccinated, the need for booster jabs, vaccinating the 5-12 age group, price of PCR tests, other coronavirus related issues would be on the table for discussion. - KUNA