Botswana authorities have said that some parliamentarians who had previously been asked to self-quarantine over coronavirus have now been placed under supervision.
The MPs have now been moved to a government facility in a ‘locked-up’ fashion to undergo quarantine after they broke instructions given to them.
On Thursday the parliamentarians including President Mokgweetsi Masisi were asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
They were to be tested for the coronavirus after a health worker within the parliamentary facility tested positive for the virus.
The country’s Health Minister Lemogang Kwape told lawmakers on Thursday that the health worker had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday night.
The health worker checked the temperatures of some of the lawmakers on Wednesday during a special sitting of parliament.
“The health worker had not shown any symptoms but had just taken a routine test. Unfortunately, the result came late on Wednesday after she was on duty at yesterday’s parliament session,” Kwape told the MPs.
But several of the MPs were caught shopping in supermarkets and instead of being in quarantine, according to a government statement.
The government statement said “Some Members of Parliament have breached their quarantine rules by going to supermarkets thus spreading the risk.”
“This is regrettable and the public is informed that the MPs have been removed from home quarantine and will be quarantined under government supervised quarantine,” the statement added.
His Excellency the President, Members of Parliament, Senior Government Officials and members of the media who attended are urged to follow home quarantine rules and not risk the spread of the disease to members of their families and the public at large.
— Botswana Government (@BWGovernment) April 10, 2020
Botswana has so far reported 13 coronavirus cases and one death, as the country remains under lockdown.
Source: Africafeeds.com
