Manipur is recording a rise in the number of daily COVID-19 cases and positivity rate despite the Election Commission’s ban on large rallies till January 31. The poll-bound state on Saturday crossed the 2,000-mark of COVID deaths since the beginning of the pandemic two years back.

The COVID vaccination coverage in Manipur still remains low even as the election body has asked the poll-bound states to ramp up vaccinations of adults.

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On Saturday, Manipur recorded three more deaths related to COVID-19, taking the death toll to 2,022, while 404 new positive cases pushed the state’s tally to 1,29,661, according to the data updated by the state health department.

Earlier, the single-day COVID-19 case count in Manipur surged to 578 with a positivity rate of 19.3 per cent, while two more patients died, according to official sources.

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The three COVID-19 fatalities recorded on Saturday are from Chandel, Imphal West and Imphal East. All the victims had co-morbidities and two of them were vaccinated with the first dose only, according to a release issued by the State COVID-19 Common Control Room.

The recovery rate in the northeastern state currently stands at 96.02 per cent. Manipur now has 3,139 COVID-19 active cases, as per the release.

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As per the latest update, the total number of people who have been administered the vaccine has reached 24,27,289 (first dose: 13,83,728 second dose: 10,30,181). The cumulative number of people who have been vaccinated in the state with the first dose is 57.89 per cent and for the second dose is 44.01 per cent, the Manipur health department’s covid bulletin added.

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The election to the 60-member Legislative Assembly of the North-Eastern state of Manipur will be held between February 1 and March 3, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Saturday. Polling will be held in two phases. Votes, meanwhile, will be counted on March 10.