Parliament pandemic plan action

Public tours of Parliament will be cancelled until further notice as officials ramp up efforts to help limit the spread of coronavirus on the precinct.

The move is part of its pandemic plan, which Speaker Trevor Mallard revealed to Stuff earlier this month.

At the time he said Parliament was ready for a Covid-19 pandemic and had stocked up early on face masks and hand sanitiser, developing a plan for the worstcase scenario.

Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said school visits would also be cancelled from March 23 until further notice. Parliament’s cafe, Copperfield’s, would also be closed to all members of the public unless they are accompanied by a staff member or MP.

The public gallery and select committee meetings would remain open to the general public, subject to ongoing review. There would also be a deep clean of the chamber, galleries and select committee rooms once a week, in addition to the regular cleaning they receive.

At this stage, events may continue to be held at Parliament but the Parliamentary Service was closely following guidance from the Ministry of Health, he said.

Other measures to help protect users of the precinct included extra cleaning of all bathrooms and regular sanitation of surfaces in public spaces, particularly reception desks. A dedicated person would also continually circulate the precinct cleaning the high-touch surfaces, he said.