KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today said that all MPs will be tested for Covid-19 before they attend the upcoming one-day Parliament sitting on May 18.

He said that all companies and workplaces, including Parliament, have been given the standard operating procedures (SOP) by the authorities.

"We have already been doing the Covid-19 testing for the staff that work in the Parliament and similarly the MPs will be going through the testing as well,” he said in his daily briefing on the Covid-19 updates.

Dr Noor Hisham said this when asked by reporters if there was any SOP for the Parliament sitting as there were no proceedings allowed during the sitting.

"The SOPs are there, but what’s important is that we should follow it,” he added.

On April 28, it was reported that the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat, which is the Lower House of Parliament, had agreed that all MPs must be tested for Covid-19.

It was also reported that the MPs must also get confirmation letters from doctors and tests must be done within two or three days before the opening of the first meeting.

The report also stated that the cost of the test will not be covered by Parliament if it was done in any private hospitals or clinics.

Earlier today, Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Mohd Md Yusof announced that Dewan Rakyat proceeding on May 18 will end immediately after the Agong delivers the Royal Address, with no debate scheduled for the remainder of the day.

The decision was reached by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on health concerns, Ariff said in a statement issued this afternoon, citing the ongoing government effort to contain Covid-19.