As the European Parliament prepares to hold a partly face-to-face plenary session (see other news), some MEPs are worried about the number of people infected within the institution as the COVID-19 epidemic reaches its peak.
Polish MEP and Quaestor Karol Karski (ECR) told Polish TV station Telewizja Republika on Tuesday 24 March, following the death of a European Parliament IT staff member the day before, that the videoconferencing service could no longer be provided as all members of the service had tested positive. According to Karski, as many as 43 people have been diagnosed as positive.
Following these statements, far-right MEP Jérôme Rivière (ID, France) wrote to European Parliament Secretary General Klaus Welle to find out the exact number of infected people in the Parliament.
The Secretary General said that, according to the Parliament’s medical service, there were, for the time being, six people infected: one MEP, two officials, one parliamentary assistant and two external contractors, including the deceased.
Disinformation. The Pole's figures and affirmations have been disproved by several internal sources. For example, one source assured EUROPE that no member of the videoconferencing service has been contaminated and that, therefore, the service will be fully operational for the plenary session.
Another internal source explains that it is necessary to differentiate between "proven" contaminated cases and "contentious" cases, for which there is doubt. These latter cases could match Mr Karski's figures.
According to an internal European Parliament count, about 100 to 150 MEPs are present in Brussels at the moment. However, the recommendations would be to limit the number of MEPs present in the Chamber to a maximum of around 30. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)