Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday announced an increase in the solatium for front-line staff if they died fighting COVID-19, from the existing ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh.
In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami said that a family member of the deceased would also be given a government job based on qualifications. The solatium was applicable to health, police and local administration departments, whose workers are involved in the fight against COVID-19 on a war-footing, he said.
The Centre has announced medical insurance of ₹50 lakh for health workers, involved in the fight against COVID-19, Mr. Palaniswami said.
The Chief Minister also said that the State government would take all steps to provide protection for their funerals, be it whether they are government or private staff. “It is the duty of the government to honour selfless service of the front-line staff,” he said.
Mr. Palaniswami also announced that those doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, be it from government or private hospitals, would be honoured with appropriate awards, if they lost their lives in the fight against COVID-19. “If any health worker serving in a private hospital happens to contract COVID-19, permission would be granted to examine all those serving in the unit as per medical protocol and after taking anti-spread efforts, medical services would be allowed in that unit,” the Chief Minister said.
He also said he has instructed officials to intensify precautionary and screening efforts in Chennai to identify those with symptoms such as breathing difficulty, cold and cough, to trace contacts of COVID-19 positive cases. IAS officers Karthikeyan and Baskaran have been appointed in this regard.
