New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday met the officials of the Health Ministry and discussed the current COVID-19 situation as five states are going to polls next year.
"In today's meeting, ECI and Union Health Ministry discussed the rising number of COVID19 (Omicron) cases across India and vaccine coverage, especially in States going for Assembly elections next year. ECI and Health Ministry will hold another meeting in January 2022," news agency ANI reported.
Assembly elections are due in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Punjab for next year.
However, the rising Omicron cases in the country, the tally of which is nearing 600, has raised concerns over the
To mention, Amid the COVID variant Omicron scare, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday requested the Election Commission of India to immediately postpone the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh for 1-2 months.
The court also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ECI to immediately ban rallies and public meetings of political parties in the state.
Meanwhile, India reported 6,987 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday. As per the Union Health Ministry report, with 162 more fatalities reported, the total death toll mounted to 4,79,682.
India saw the highest single-day rise of Omicron infections with 156 fresh cases of which 63 were reported from Delhi alone. The total tally has thus reached 578, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
