Centre to provide fresh insurance cover to 'COVID-19 warriors' under PMGK scheme

New Delhi, Apr 19: The Union Health Ministry on Monday announced that all claims of "COVID warriors" under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package will be settled till April 24 after which a fresh insurance policy for them will become effective.

In a tweet, the ministry said that a new dispensation will be provided to cover the "corona warriors". For this, the ministry is in talks with the New India Assurance, it said.

"Two hundred and eight seven claims have been paid by the insurance company so far. The scheme has played a crucial psychological role in boosting the morale of the health workers fighting COVID-19," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) insurance policy claims of COVID warriors will continue to be settled till 24th April, 2021, thereafter a fresh insurance policy for COVID warriors will become effective," it said.

The PMGKP was announced on March last year, and was extended thrice till April 24, the ministry said.

It was launched to provide a safety net to the health workers to ensure that in case of any adversity due to COVID-19, their families are taken care of.

Insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs is provided under the PMKGP scheme.

This has provided a safety net to the dependents of the coronavirus warriors who lost their lives to the disease.