In the Senate, the sessions will continue in a semi-presential scheme, but the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), may determine that the work will be done remotely if the number of infected with the coronavirus continues to rise.
Lira made the decision official in a publication on social networks. “Remote work until Carnival. Necessary measure until we win this new wave. It will also help us to better use public resources. Airfares are very high and flexibility in rebooking only happens when it is in the interest of the companies.”
Since last week, the mayor has held conversations with members of the Board of Directors of the House and with party leaders about the possibility of resuming the remote voting system until the numbers of the pandemic decrease again.
Hours after Lira's post, an act by the Board of Directors of the Chamber was published to establish measures to prevent the spread of the virus on the premises of the House. “Considering the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic and its effects, a portion of the servers will develop their activities primarily in remote work, on a temporary basis, while others will remain in person, when their presence is essential for the functioning of the House,” justify the members of the Board of Directors.
After almost a year and a half of working remotely, the deputies returned to the face-to-face model in October. With the decision, they needed to register presence at points of the Chamber, but they continued to participate in voting through the application. Only pregnant women and parliamentarians with comorbidities did not need to attend.
According to Valor, the decision may postpone the analysis of controversial proposals to March, such as the project that deals with the regularization of gambling in the country. Lira's interlocutors assess that, as the topic divides the plenary, the tendency is for the text to be discssed by the plenary only with the re-establishment of face-to-face work.
Unlike the House, the Senate will not have changes for the time being and will continue with the mixed model. If the escalation in the number of positive cases of covid-19 due to the Omicron variant continues, the determination that all activities take place remotely will be evaluated. The information was given to Valor by interlocutors from Pacheco.
Since February 2021, the Senate has been working in a hybrid way. The presence, in plenary and in the committees, of those who want to participate in the discussions and votes in person is allowed, following the protocol of distancing and hygiene.
The recommendation for senators over 60 years of age, with comorbidities or who feel insecure in the National Congress environment, is to use the remote voting system. In voting by authorities, in which the physical presence of the senator in parliament is required, the vote registration can be carried out in totems outside the plenary or even in the area outside the building.
Source: Valor
