COVID-19: Madhya Pradesh declares journalists as 'frontline workers'

Bhopal, May 03: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Madhya Pradesh on Monday declared media professionals accredited with the state government as ''frontline workers''.

While making the announcement, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said journalists were risking their lives while doing their duty during this "dangerous period of COVID-19 pandemic".

"Therefore, we have decided to declare all accredited journalists as frontline workers in Madhya Pradesh. They will be taken care of," Chouhan said in a video statement posted on the Twitter handle of the Chief Minister''s Office.

Around 4,000 journalists are currently accredited with the state government, according to a public relations department official.

The official said the state government was yet to decide on other modalities regarding this announcement.

Madhya Pradesh reported 12,662 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, which took its infection tally to 5,88,368, while 94 deaths pushed the fatality count to 5,812, as per official data.