Sitting of the Storting, 19th March 2020. Photo: Storting
Full Chamber for voting on biotechnology proposals
At a meeting of the Storting’s Presidium on Friday 22nd May, the decision was made to set up temporary plexiglass barriers between certain pairs of MPs’ seats in the Storting Chamber. The aim is to make sure that the strict infection control measures currently in place are maintained when all 169 MPs are present in the Chamber.
This will be the case when voting on a series of biotechnology proposals takes place today.
The Presidium carefully assessed several alternatives. Among these were voting by groups, or voting in a number of different places at the same time. However, all the other options considered would result in the process taking far longer than usual, possibly several hours.
– The Presidium has concluded that the best solution is for all MPs to be present in the Chamber at the same time. By using the normal system, the voting will be quicker, and we will ensure that votes are correctly registered, said Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, President of the Storting.
Because of this, the Presidium has decided to erect plexiglass barriers between the MPs who sit closest together.
– This will reduce the risk of exposure to infection when MPs sit next to each other. The Chamber will also be cleaned regularly during the sitting, Trøen added.
The Presidium believes that these precautions are the best way of reducing the risk of infection. It is highly likely that the measures will be in place until the end of the current session.