New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) Covid-positive people were provided pick-up facilities to polling booths and drop at home in ambulances during the last one hour of the Rajinder Nagar bypoll on Thursday.

As many as 24 COVID-19-positive voters arrived in ambulances wearing masks and gloves to exercise their franchise.

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Ambulances were arranged for ferrying them to polling booths and medical facilities were kept on standby in case any such voter needs help, officials said.

However, all regular voters were first asked to vacate the polling booths at around 5 pm, and then the voters suffering from COVID-19 were allowed to cast their vote.

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Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh had earlier said Covid positive voters will be allowed to vote in full PPE kits.

However, it was later clarified by an official that PPE was not mentioned in the Covid protocol and that is why only gloves and masks were made mandatory.

Voter turnout in the Rajinder Nagar assembly by-poll was recorded at 43.75 per cent, officials said.

A total of 1,64,698 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election, in which 14 candidates are in the fray, with water shortage and the city government's liquor policy among the key election issues.

Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and concluded at 6 pm.

There are 591 electors, who are persons with disability, 39 voters are visually impaired, 64 are service voters, and 2,486 voters are in the age group of 80 and above.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)