Govt mulls risk allowance for health staff
‘5 marks in NEET’ carrot for students on Covid
BENGALURU:
The state government is considering providing a ‘risk allowance’ to health workers in the frontline of the fight against Covid-19, according to Medical Education Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar.
Addressing a presser on Monday, Dr.Sudhakar said the government is thinking of doubling the salary of D Group workers and providing a risk allowance to all frontline workers. A final decision will be made in this regard in 2-3 days.
“Our doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other corona warriors are working tirelessly from the past 120 days. Naturally, this has taken a toll on them both physically and mentally. Our corona warriors are vulnerable to infection and the additional allowance is a small step towards boosting their morale,” the minister said.
Nodal officer for testing
The government has set a target to ramp up testing, and 15,000 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours. A nodal officer has been appointed to oversee the testing, the minister said.
Roping in students
About 2,000 P-G medical students will be utilised for Covid-related work. Apart for this, final-year nursing students and MBBS students will be deployed at Covid care centres, Dr.Sudhakar said. The government is also considering awarding 5 marks in NEET for medical students involved in Covid- related work, he said.
Booth-level watch
Meanwhile, a meeting was held on Monday with all district deputy commissioners to discuss the setting up of booth-level committees. These committees will work to contain infections in both rural and urban areas, the minister said.
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