New Delhi: The Election Commission reviewed the Covid-19 situation and held discussions with the Health Ministry, ICMR and AIIMS director regarding the upcoming elections in five states.
The poll body emphasised the need for vaccination of all eligible people in five poll-bound states.
In the meeting, the Union Health Secretary briefed the Election Commission about the latest Covid-19 situation in the country, with cases rising exponentially driven by the Omicron variant.
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ICMR director Dr Balram Bhargava and AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria discussed other aspects related to the increasing Covid-19 cases with the Election Commission.
The Election Commission is compiling all the information related to Covid-19 through these meetings to ensure that the elections don't become a super-spreader event.
The Election Commission officials also met Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and discussed on ways to conduct the elections peacefully in the five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.
The poll panel also took inputs from medical experts on "safety measures to be ensured" during campaigning and polling. It stressed to the health secretary the need to ensure double dose vaccination for all eligible persons.
The health experts told the top Election Commission officials to focus majorly on virtual rallies, seeing the unprecedented rise in the Covid cases across the country.