Santiago, May 15 (IANS): Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris has called on citizens to maintain protective measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the landmark polls slated to take place on Saturday and Sunday.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, he said: "(We must) always maintain self-care measures, use a mask, wash hands with soap and water, use hand sanitizer, keep physical distance and, of course, carry your own blue pencil, since these are the most effective measures to avoid new infections," Xinhua news agency

Paris also said that in the last 24 hours, 6,903 new Covid-19 cases and 127 fatalities were registered, which took the overall infection tally and death toll to 1,273,516 and 27,647 deaths.

On Saturday and Sunday, the South American country will hold elections for councillors, mayors and, for the first time ever, regional governors and members of a constituent assembly to draft a new Constitution.

To facilitate voting, authorities will waive the requirement of obtaining a special permit to leave the house amid Covid-19 lockdown measures, and a curfew will begin at 2 a.m.

The much-anticipated elections are set to elect 155 constituents to draw up a new Constitution as a political solution to the social unrest that erupted in October 2019.

Similarly, the Governors of each of the country's 16 regions will be elected for the first time.