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Comelec to set up isolated polling places for voters with fever

Voters with body temperatures higher than 37 degrees Celsius will be able to exercise their right to suffrage during the 2022 elections by voting at a separate polling place, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday.

Based on Tina Panganiban Perez's report on "24 Oras,"  Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr. said voters' temperature will be first checked at the entrance of a polling center.

If the voter registers a temperature above 37°C, they will be asked to rest, then their temperature will be taken again. If it remains high, they will be brought to an isolated polling place, or IPP.

"This is a new system. All polling centers will have IPP. A voter will be given a right to vote," Kho said in mixed Filipino and English.

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For her part, Dr. Beverly Ho of Department of Health advised proper ventilation in possible voting sites, adding that polling centers may be moved to open-air areas to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Comelec is set to craft new normal guidelines for voting to prepare for safe polls in 2022 amid the pandemic.

Comelec said it could not implement multiple voting days but it would extend voting hours in 2022. — Consuelo Marquez/BM, GMA News