Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday that the family of a contractual doctor, who died of the coronavirus, will get Rs 1 crore as compensation.

Dr Javed Ali, who was a part of the government’s National Health Mission since 2011, had been working at a coronavirus care facility and then a sero surveillance centre of the Delhi government since March. He contracted the coronavirus in June and died on July 20.

“Dr Javed Ali working as a doctor with Delhi Govt NRHM [National Rural Health Mission], had succumbed to Covid,” Jain tweeted on Wednesday. “CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will be given Corona Warrior status. Delhi govt will give Rs 1 crore compensation to the family.”

Dr Ali’s wife, Dr Heena, said she was “touched” by the government’s gesture, The Indian Express reported. Earlier on Wednesday, four members of the National Health Mission Doctors’ Welfare Association met Jain with a set of demands for medical professionals.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday appealed to the Delhi government to any help required to the doctor’s family. “Dr Javed Ali and all other doctors offer their services during this crisis by risking their lives,” she tweeted in Hindi. “It is time to stand with the families of these martyrs. The government should provide all possible help to Dr Javed’s family.”

In April, Kejriwal had announced that the government would provide Rs 1 crore as compensation to the kin of healthcare workers who die while on duty to fight the coronavirus. Many healthcare workers have died of coronavirus in the national Capital since March.

Delhi has so far reported 1,26,323 cases of the coronavirus, including 3,719 deaths and 1,07,650 recoveries, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.


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