People vote in large numbers first time in shadow of COVID-19 in India

Health officials in one of India’s most populated countries suffered a big test on Wednesday with the nation’s first state assembly election being handled since the novel coronavirus epidemic started, notwithstanding appeals to suspend it for some time.

The world’s largest democracy has one of its most severe disruptions of the coronavirus, with approximately 8 million contaminations, and voters lining up on the first day of three-phase voting for a new government in Bihar state were met with masks and temperature checks.

“Face masks and sanitizers have been granted to the staff stationed on poll duty,” stated a polling administrator in the sacred city of Gaya, who refused to be classified as he was not allowed to talk to the media.

“Face masks are also being given to the people who are moving to poll stations without using one.”

In August, the Supreme Court denied a bid by a Bihar political party to delay the election, directing that the virus was not a reasonable cause to do so.

Bihar is India’s third-most populated state with a population of more than 100 million people. Polling takes place over three phases, covering up on Nov. 7.

The result is not assumed to have any meaningful connections for national politics more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi achieved a second term with a comprehensive general election victory.

Modi, whose ruling coalition in Bihar is up next a united opposition, lately praised Bihar’s treatment of the COVID-19. Bihar has reported more than 213,000 contaminations, less than many better-off Indian states with smaller populations.

India’s daily rise in virus contaminations has been declining since a September peak, but health authorities caution that the estimates could rise again.

India is set to pass the milestone of 8 million infections on Thursday, as 43,893 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 7.99 million, health ministry data revealed.

India has the second-highest number of infections after the United States but its death toll has been relatively low at 120,010.