The State government has decided to cover the medical expenses of all its front line staff in the essential departments, who are in the thick of the fight against COVID-19, in case they contract the pandemic. The medical cover would be reviewed after May 30.
A senior official clarified that the date had nothing to do with the lockdown.
“It is a precautionary measure aimed at benefiting our staff who are working hard during these challenging times and if they contract it in the line of duty, they should get the cover,” a senior official told The Hindu.
The official clarified that the medical cover would be applicable to treatment either in government or private hospitals.
All categories of officials would get an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh if they test positive for COVID-19, according to a Government Order issued by Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam.
The temporary facility would be applicable to employees in the Health and Family Welfare, Revenue and Disaster Management, and Police departments, sanitation and conservancy workers, rural and urban local bodies’ employees involved in prevention, identification, quarantine and treatment for COVID-19.
G.O. issued
The G.O. was issued at the behest of the Chief Minister who told a meeting on April 2 that front line staff faced the risk of contracting COVID-19 and that the government should take care of their treatment cost and pay them ex gratia.
Accordingly, a proposal was put up by Commissioner of Revenue Administration J. Radhakrishnan, which was accepted by Mr. Shanmugam, who issued a G.O. on April 4.
The G.O. said the front line staff should be provided with personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves to ensure that they did not contract COVID-19 while discharging their duty.
