Odisha Govt announces Rs 50L ex-gratia to Covid martyrs 

BHUBANESWAR: WITH the Centre doing a U-turn on the promised assurance to provide insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to frontline Covid-19 warriors, the State Government on Wednesday said it will pay the compensation to the families of such workers who lost their lives fighting the deadly virus.

This was announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during a review of the Covid situation in the State. 
Naveen said that the State Government had recommended names of 60 Covid warriors who laid their lives, for an assistance of Rs 50 lakh each.“The Central Government has given consent to provide the compassionate assistance to only one martyr. The State Government will draw the attention of the Centre again in this regard,” he said.

Praising the sincerity and dedication of Covid warriors in the eight-month long fight against the pandemic, the Chief Minister announced compassionate assistance to the families of martyred Covid warriors.Earlier, the Chief Minister had announced Rs 50 lakh compensation to the kin of medical officials and members of support services who died in the line of Covid-19 duty. 

Maintaining that around 78 per cent of people are in home quarantine, Naveen emphasised on direct contact between the patients in home isolation and hospitals with the senior health officers. He further emphasised on massive sensitisation regarding antiviral drug therapy.