Lok Sabha Speaker calls meeting with state assembly presiding officers on prevailing COVID situation

New Delhi, Apr 15: In the wake of a steep rise in COVID-19 cases, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will hold a virtual meeting with all presiding officers of legislative bodies on Monday to discuss the prevailing situation and the role of public representatives, according to a statement.

Besides them, ministers of parliamentary affairs and leaders of opposition in state legislatures will also join the meeting on 'Prevailing COVID-19 Situation and the Role and Responsibility of Public Representatives', the statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.

Last year too Birla had held a meeting with all presiding officers of legislative bodies during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. He had suggested setting up of control rooms in state assemblies for better coordination to help people, especially migrant labourers and students, stranded in different parts of the country due to the lockdown, return home.

The number of daily coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high with over 2 lakh infections being reported in a day, while the active cases surpassed the 14- lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

With the new cases, the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to more than 1.40 crore. A total of 2,00,739 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in a span of 24 hours, while death toll increased to 1,73,123 with 1,038 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 3, 2020, the data updated at 8 am showed.