Masks back in Parliament

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other MPs were seen wearing masks during proceedings of Parliament on Thursday amid fresh concerns over Covid, which has erupted after the Covid-19 scare in China.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla also urged all MPs to wear masks and spread awareness about Covid-appropriate behaviour.

Former Union Health Minister Harshvardhan said that masks are quite effective as far as Covid is concerned and all the timely precautions have to be taken. "There's no harm in wearing masks as they also protect us from pollutants in the air," he said. The decision was taken after four cases of BF.7 sub-variant of Omicron, which has been reported in China, have been detected in India so far.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that both the Chairs in Parliament had requested the members to wear face masks during proceedings but leaders from the Opposition didn't wear masks, which shows their attitude towards Covid guidelines.