THERE is uncertainty as to whether or not Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi will be present in the Senate to open debate on the Firearms Amendment Bill 2021 on Tuesday. The Senate sits from 10 am on that day.
A statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs on April 27, said Al-Rawi put himself in isolation as a primary contact of an unnamed recent covid19 case.
"In accordance with covid19 protocols, the Attorney General proceeded to be tested for covid19 via a PCR test yesterday, April 26, as recommended by the Ministry of Health in the circumstances. The Attorney General received a negative covid19 test result."
On that day, the Prime Minister also tested negative for covid19. Dr Rowley had previously tested covid19 positive on April 6 and was in quaratine at the Prime Minister's official residence in Blenheim, Tobago, at the time.
The statement added, "Out of an abundance of caution and in compliance with covid19 protocols, he (Al-Rawi) began 14 days in isolation on April 26." He will continue to work remotely "via virtual platforms and other relevant forms of communication," it said.
While Monday marks the end of the 14-day quarantine period that Al-Rawi was in, government officials could not say whether or not he would be physically present in the Senate on Tuesday.
One official said,"I don't know if he is now out of self quarantine."
Efforts to contact Al-Rawi were unsuccessful.
A second official explained that, although the bill is listed in Al-Rawi's name and he is scheduled to pilot it, Government has the option of having someone else perform that task if he cannot.
In March, Al-Rawi was criticised for appearing unmasked on a game show that was a broadcast social media event. His appearance at that event caused Rowley to express his disappointment and stress that people in leadership roles in the country should be better exemplars to the population during the covid19 pandemic. Al-Rawi subsequently heeded Rowley's advice and apologised for his actions.
There are no scheduled sittings of the House of Representatives this week. At a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's on May 7. Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young listed sittings of Parliament as some of the activities which continue to be allowed under the new public health regulations, in effect until May 23.
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