Bhubaneswar: As many as 136 out of 757 samples of MLAs, staff and journalists have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly.
According to sources, the Chief Whip of the ruling BJD Pramilla Mallick and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra were among those who tested positive during a testing drive.
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Speaker Surya Narayan Patro had announced that those who would test COVID-19 positive during the drive would not be allowed inside the Assembly. The monsoon session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin from September 29.
The sources said the COVID-19 tests, which were conducted on 20 MLAs on Saturday, will be done on Sunday also. Those who tested negative this time will undergo the test again after five days, they added.
