The Election Commission will be issuing instructions soon with a view to curbing the spread of COVID-19 on May 2, when votes in the five Assembly elections are scheduled to be counted, EC officials said on Monday.
The Madras High Court had blamed campaigning for the Assembly elections for the spike in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Elections were also held in Assam and Kerala and are still ongoing in West Bengal.
An EC official said the Commission would inform the court of the steps taken at all counting centres at the next hearing on Friday. The EC had carried out the Bihar Assembly elections in 2020 amidst the lockdown and other enforcement measures. The enforcement under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, had to be ensured by the SDMC concerned, the official said.
The EC, the official said, had been interacting with Chief Electoral Officers to ensure that all COVID-19 measures are followed at counting centres.
