All MPs, Speaker of parliament must be quarantined immediately – Ben Epson

Pollster Ben Ephson is pushing for all Ghanaian members of parliament and the speaker, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, to be quarantined on the back of admission that some MPs and parliamentary staffers have contracted the deadly novel coronavirus.

He argued that Parliament is no different from other institutions where persons are quarantined once a COVID-19 case is recorded among the people, hence the MPs must be subjected to the same COVID-19 protocols to protect the larger society.

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed Friday that some MPs and parliamentary staffers who tested positive for the virus and were supposed to be in isolation were still having contacts with others.

“The arrangement was that anybody who, unfortunately, tested positive, will not be openly identified but that the testing team will have the arrangement to contact them behind the curtain and have the situation managed,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.

He claimed that some people have ignored directives from the COVID-19 team to self-isolate “and they visit parliament and endanger the lives of all of us.”

Commenting on the issue, Mr Ephson who is the Managing Editor of the Dispatch Newspaper has said “I think that all Members of Parliament, from the Speaker to all the 275 MPs, all the staff in parliament, all the journalists working in there should all be quarantined as soon as possible.

Speaking to Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM 92.7, he said once someone contracts the disease and gives out the names of persons he has been in contact with, “the ambulances go there with armed policemen to take them for testing”.

“So once the Majority leader has opened up the can of worms that there are members of parliament and staffers who have tested positive they should all be quarantined as soon as possible.”