Parliament sittings confined to 2 hours; media barred

• Sittings curtailed due to COVID-19 risks
• Two regulations under Medical Ordinance to be debated

Parliament will meet for two hours today with media personnel among those barred from covering Parliamentary sessions due to the heightened risk of COVID-19 within the complex, official sources said.

The usual four sitting days of the week will be confined to today’s session, they said.

Parliament correspondents have been informed that proceedings of today’s two-hour session from 10 a.m. to 12 noon will be telecast via a cable television channel, Facebook Live, YouTube and Parliament webcasting.

Two regulations under the Medical Ordinance submitted by the Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi will be taken up for debate.

Only Members of Parliament (MPs), invited officials, security personnel and Parliament staff will be allowed to enter the complex today.

The House will next meet on 12 November to debate the Appropriation Bill 2020 which was presented by the Minister of Finance for service expenditure for the financial year 2020.

The Government will present its Budget to Parliament on 17 November.