Monsoon session: Rajya Sabha to hold discussion over Health minister's comment regarding COVID-19

New Delhi, Sep 16: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said that it will hold a discussion on the statement made by Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday over the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Upper House will also discuss the steps taken by the central government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

This move comes as several leaders raised issues related to COVID-19 in the Parliament. As the session began on Wednesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha gave a Zero Hour notice in the Rajya Sabha over "COVID-19 and its impacts on the migrant workforce".

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Veer Singh also moved a Zero Hour notice over increase in unemployment due to lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the health minister had said that the battle against COVID-19 is far from over and the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

"I want to remind the members that battle against Covid-19 is far from over. I wish to inform the house that government is taking all necessary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in India," the health minister had said.

He also said that the countrywide lockdown prevented approximately 14 lakh to 29 lakh cases of Covid-19 and 37,000 to 78,000 deaths.

With various precautionary measures at place, the monsoon session of Parliament commenced from Monday. The 18-day long session will conclude on October 1.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday India's COVID-19 tally surpassed five-million mark with a spike of 90,123 new cases in the last 24 hours. As of Wednesday, the number of total cases stood at 5,02,0359. The death toll reached 82,066 after 1,290 fresh fatalities.