Jharkhand Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on Thursday ordered the closure of the Assembly secretariat till Monday, July 27 in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases that include three legislators and a handful of staff members.

Mahto said that during this time, a thorough santisation of the entire premises would also be undertaken.

“There is no other option but to shut the premises in the wake of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand. Three MLAs and a few assembly staffers recently reported positive. Hence, as a precaution, I have issued an order today (Thursday) to close the premises and suspended all meetings,” he said.

Mahto added that even though the monsoon session was unlikely to be held this time due to the pandemic, but Assembly staff and legislators who head various sub-committees would often visit to hold meetings and perform routine paperwork.

Over 600 people are currently employed in the Jharkhand Assembly with an effective strength of 81 legislators. As now there are 79 MLAs. Two seats, Dumka and Bermo, are vacant.

After taking oath earlier this year, chief minister Hemant Soren, who won from two seats, vacated Dumka and retained Barhait, while Congress’s MLA Rajendra Singh’s untimely demise has left Bermo without a sitting MLA. Byelections to both seats are expected to be held later this year.

On Wednesday, Ranchi MLA and former minister C.P. Singh became the third legislator to test positive for Covid-19 while Garhwa MLA and state water resources minister Mithilesh Thakur and Tundi MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto had tested positive earlier this month.

Two days back, Thakur was discharged from Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi while Mahto is currently undergoing treatment at TMH in Jamshedpur.