Bhubaneswar: In view of the rapid decrease in COVID-19 cases in Odisha, the State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday relaxed COVID-19 restrictions imposed for counting of votes of the panchayat polls.
Earlier, the SEC had issued instructions for compulsory RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for officials entering counting centres within 48 hours of commencement of counting even if they are fully vaccinated.
However, taking note of the decline in COVID-19 cases, the SEC today wrote to all district Collectors for relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.
As per the relaxed rules, all persons entering counting centres will go through thermal scanning. While only doubly vaccinated persons will be allowed inside the Counting Hall, persons having COVID-19 symptoms will be barred from entering the counting centres.
