Assembly polls are being held in Kozhikode on Tuesday even as COVID-19 cases are seeing a spike for consecutive days in the district. Voters have been urged to exercise caution as they enter the polling booth.
Daily test positivity rate (TPR), the number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 per 100 samples, was above 9% on Saturday and Sunday. As many as 568 and 403 people turned positive on these days. The daily TPR was 10.86% and 9.59%, respectively, which were much higher than the State average.
According to officials, all the voters should wear face masks and keep social distancing protocol. Hand wash and hand sanitisers are arranged in all booths. Thermal scanners have been installed and trained Accredited Social Health Activists and National Cadet Corps volunteers will measure body temperature of voters.
If the body temperature is above the optimum level, it will be tested again after an hour. If the temperature remains the same, the voter would be given a token and asked to exercise the franchise using COVID appropriate protocol in the final hours of polling. Space will be marked inside the station to ensure that the voters are keeping a distance from each other. COVID patients and those suspected to have the infection should wear personal protection equipment, gloves, and N 95 face masks. All booths would have a ‘mask corner’ to distribute face masks to those who have forgotten to wear them.
