The Election Commission on Thursday reviewed the current Covid-19 situation in the five poll-bound states with Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, AIIMS Director, Dr Randeep Guleria, and ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava.

Five states scheduled for Assembly polls this year are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur. According to a source, the health experts have briefed the top Election Commission officials to focus majorly on virtual rallies, seeing the unprecedented rise in the Covid-19 cases across the country. The need to ramp up the vaccination process was also emphasised.