MPs will face screening and temperature checks when they head back through the doors of Parliament.
Tough new measures are being rolled out to keep the House of Commons free of Covid-19.
Safety is being stepped up with strict social distancing planned along its green seats after top Ministers, including Boris Johnson, were struck down by the virus.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been hammering out the plan with Public Health England before MPs come back tomorrow. Only 50 MPs will be allowed into the chamber but Sir Lindsay has urged them to “stay away” as they set up a “hybrid” plan to allow 120 MPs to take part in debates through Zoom.
He said: “What we can’t have is that those in the chamber do something different from the MPs who are not there.
“We are currently looking at different voting systems, and our main aim is to make sure it will be as secure as possible, and that’s why we are taking serious security advice.
“Until we have agreed on a voting system, I would imagine that the usual channels will be looking to make sure we have the least number of votes possible.” For the first time in Parliament’s history, MPs will be able to stay involved from their own homes.
Eight screens will be put in place so MPs can ask questions through Zoom and the chamber is being marked out with cards to show them where to sit.
Plastic screens are being put in place at Portcullis House to protect those at the tills and chairs have been limited to one per table.
Virtual voting will help laws be pushed through during coronavirus lockdown.
Sir Lindsay said it would be fun to see what books MPs had behind them when they were speaking from home.
“I think the ones that still have Viz and The Beano on their shelves will speak volumes,” he added.
