Lawmakers will be allowed to make speeches at plenary sessions without a mask starting Monday when the new parliamentary session convenes — a shift from its mask mandate that has been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a Lower House committee meeting on parliamentary rules on Thursday, ruling and opposition lawmakers agreed to install a plexiglass shield at the speaker’s podium aimed at preventing COVID-19 infection via aerosol transmission. Diet members who are seated will still be required to wear masks.
It will also be up to individual committees to decide whether to apply a no-mask rule during their deliberations.