Victoria parliament shuts down after guard turns positive for Covid-19

The Victoria parliament building has been temporarily shut down after a security guard who worked there last week tested positive to coronavirus.

Parliament House and its grounds will remain closed until further notice while deep cleaning of the relevant areas is undertaken.

In a joint statement on Sunday, legislative assembly speaker Colin Brooks and legislative council president Nazih Elasmar said the guard had stayed home on the day they felt unwell.

“Under current arrangements, parliament’s contracted security guards do not work at other locations,” they said.

“The welfare of the person concerned and of all members and employees is of utmost importance to us.

“We are taking every precaution to maintain the health and safety of everyone working at parliament.”

It is not immediately clear what impact it will have on the upcoming sitting week. Victoria’s upper house is scheduled to sit on Tuesday and Wednesday, while lower house sittings are scheduled on Thursday and Friday.

The building is already thoroughly cleaned each weekday. Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has commenced contact tracing.