Special Covid kits for election workers as they prepare for Bihar polls

New Delhi:

The Election Commission has made special arrangements to protect its employees from contracting coronavirus during their election service in Bihar, where Assembly elections will be held next month.

The polling station provided a small kit containing an N95 mask, disinfectant and gloves to protect employees on polling duty in the state. The package will also contain a safety keychain to prevent the use of hands while pressing the buttons.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, while announcing polling dates today, said special measures had been taken to ensure the smooth running of the elections amid the Covid crisis.

An extra hour of voting, a separate vote for Covid patients, and no physical contact during the campaign are among the key changes made by the electoral body for the three-phase elections.

“Covid patients who are quarantined will be able to vote on the last day of polling, in their respective polling stations, under the supervision of health authorities. This is outside the postal service option which is already extended to them,” said Arora said, adding that the election will be “historic” as it takes place in the midst of the pandemic.

Last month, the Election Commission announced a number of guidelines for elections in the country, where more than 58 lakh people have contracted the virus.

These include door-to-door campaigns with just five people and voter gloves, a maximum of 1000 voters in the voting booth at a time, and checking the body temperature of each voter before the person. be allowed to enter the voting booth. The rules also allow applicants to complete their documents online.

The assembly election in Bihar – which will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7, and the results of which will be announced on November 10 – is the first major election to be held amid the global coronavirus crisis .

Bihar is due to elect a new assembly of 243 members by November 29.