The Storting steps up its infection control measures
Members of the Storting (MPs) are recommended to use facemasks when they are not able to maintain the minimum one-metre distance from others. Committee travel has been cancelled until the end of the year, and, wherever possible, people must keep a distance of at least two metres if they have to attend meetings in person.
"We are monitoring the infection situation very closely. We are acutely aware of the risks involved when we as MPs from all over the country meet in Oslo and then return to our constituencies. We aim to do what we can to limit the spread of infection both to and from Parliament, and to make sure that the work of the Storting, which is so critical to Norwegian society, continues to function,” said Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, President of the Storting.
The Government and Oslo Municipality have stepped up measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. With this in mind, the Presidium has made the decision to tighten up the Storting’s own infection control procedures. The new rules and recommendations came into effect on Thursday 29th October.
Among the measures that the Presidium has adopted is a recommendation relating to the use of facemasks. This new recommendation also applies to MPs in the Storting Chamber when it is not possible for them to keep to the one-metre rule.
A high proportion of meetings in the Storting already take place online, and this autumn several committee trips were also arranged digitally. The Presidium has now decided that digital committee trips will become the rule until the end of the year.
“There have been no known cases of infection in the Storting since the spring. I’ve no doubt that good infection control and strict precautions have been decisive here. We now have a new infection situation to deal with, with stricter measures both nationally and in Oslo,” Trøen said.
The aim of both the new and the existing measures is to minimize the risk of infection and to ensure that the Storting is capable of carrying out its duties even if there are new cases of COVID-19 in or related to the Storting. The Constitution states that at least half the MPs must be present in the Chamber for the Storting to have a quorum.