The Presidential Task Force (PTF) says 5,000 frontline health workers responding to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19), pandemic outbreak in the country will receive Life Insurance Cover.
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Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and PTF chairman on COVID-19, said this at the PTF daily briefing on COVID19 on Friday in Abuja.
Mustapha said N112, 500, was fully paid by the Nigerian Insurance Industry in line with the principle of “No Premium No Cover” for the health workers.
The SGF said the Ministry of Health in conjunction with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies and Health professional bodies have also signed an MOU for various allowances and incentives for frontline health workers.
He noted that the financial commitments were in line with Federal Government’s unending support for the Frontline workers.
Meanwhile, he called on farmers to start preparing to return to their farms as the rainy season begins.
Also speaking, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health said that starter packs had been deployed to all tertiary health institutions and Federal Medical Centres nationwide to ensure that frontline health workers were protected.
Ehanire commended all health workers in the frontline of COVID-19 for their courage and patriotism.
He, however, urged them to protect themselves and remain vigilant in the line of duty.
“Protect yourselves as prescribed. Use your personal protective equipment judiciously. Do not attempt to treat COVID-19 patients without wearing adequate PPE or if your institution is not accredited to do so.
“This is important because we need to keep health workers safe at such a time and cannot afford an increase in number of those who test positive to COVID-19 and have to go into self-isolation.
“Remain vigilant in the line of duty and maintain high index of suspicion for this infection,” he said.
He advised medical authorities across the country against dismissing any health worker.
He stressed that all health workers were needed at this period when the nation was combating a pandemic and therefore, all hands must be on deck.
“This is not the time for any doctor to be pulled out of service. We need everybody at this time. We need the nurses, laboratory scientists, we need all hands on deck at this time,” he said.
The minister who gave this advice while responding to questions concerning the dismissal of a certain group of doctors added that although he was not aware about the incident, saying it would be investigated.
“With regards to the doctors who were dismissed, there must have been administration reasons which I don’t know about. It will be looked into by the board at the hospital,” he noted.
He said that the high number of COVID-19 cases in the country was due to community transmission and increased testing.
The minister said that Nigerians who require no treatment still need to be in isolation in the interest of the public.
He stated that the use of face masks was recommended when people are going out of their homes.
“To defeat COVID-19 requires individual and collective efforts,” he said.
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