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Assembly polls in 5 States from Feb. 10, ECI bans physical campaigning till Jan. 15

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the election schedule for the Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh State Assemblies. The Commission also banned all physical campaigning till January 15 due to the increasing COVID-19 cases across the country.

Announcing the poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the decision was taken after taking inputs from health officials and much deliberation.

Polling for Uttar Pradesh’s 403 Assembly seats would be held over seven phases on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7.

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra addresses a press conference in New Delhi to announce dates for elections in five States.

Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand will all vote on a single day, February 14. Elections in Manipur will be spread over two phases on February 27 and March 3.

Counting for all 690 constituencies across five States, where a total of 18.34 crore citizens are eligible to vote, would be carried out on March 10.

COVID-19 vaccination | Use only Covaxin for 15-18 age cohort: Bharat Biotech

COVID vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has appealed to healthcare workers to be “highly vigilant and ensure that only Covaxin is administered to individuals in the 15-18 years age group”.

The appeal was issued late on Friday night and comes following reports of other COVID-19 vaccines being administered to this cohort.

Currently only Covaxin is approved for the 15-18 age group. “Covaxin received approval based on clinical trial evaluation for safety and immunogenicity in the 2-18 years age group,” Bharat Biotech said in its announcement.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation on Saturday called for stringent implementation of public health and social measures as COVID-19 cases increased in most countries of southeast Asia, with some witnessing an exponential rise.