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Coronavirus: positive case shuts Parliament House

A security guard at Victoria’s parliament has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting presiding officers to close access to the building until further notice.

Police patrol the outside of Parliament House ahead of an anti-lockdown protest in early September. Picture: Getty Images
Police patrol the outside of Parliament House ahead of an anti-lockdown protest in early September. Picture: Getty Images

A security guard at Victoria’s parliament has tested positive for coronavirus, prompting presiding officers to close access to the building until further notice while cleaning occurs, and raising questions over whether parliament will sit as scheduled on Tuesday.

Speaker Colin Brooks and Legislative Council President Nazih Elasmar released a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming “a person who worked at Parliament House last week has tested positive to COVID-19”.

Victoria’s parliament last sat on September 4, but the building is open in non-sitting weeks for staff, including MPs, to access their offices.

“We have closed access to Parliament House and its grounds until further notice while deep cleaning of the relevant areas is conducted,” the presiding officers said in a statement.

“Contact tracing by the Department of Health and Human Services has commenced.”

Read related topics:Coronavirus

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/coronavirus-positive-case-shuts-parliament-house/news-story/22a5952d8100c91d13518e5e5feac60e