Maharashtra govt announces insurance cover worth Rs 50 lakhs for Covid warriors

Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra announced that all employees working in the frontline against coronavirus will be supported with an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs Pawar announced that the insurance cover will be provided to permanent employees as well as temporary employees. 

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Pawar announces insurance for frontline workers

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country with more than 59,500 cases and 1,982 deaths due to coronavirus. A number of frontline workers - doctors, police personnel have been infected with the virus and many have lost their lives. 

Earlier on Friday, Pawar said that the state government will soon announce a financial package to steer the state out of the present economic crisis. Talking to reporters in Pimpri Chinchwad township near Pune, the senior NCP leader said that as a result of the pandemic and the lockdown, all financial activities have come to a standstill, and businesses, as well as jobs, have been adversely impacted.

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"In a nutshell, we are facing an economic crisis and we want to find a way out. The state government will soon announce a financial package and a decision in that regard will be taken in the cabinet," Pawar said.

He said that although the Centre recently announced an economic package, there were still differences of opinion on how much money will be given to the people.

"We are also seeking help from the Centre. We have been sending correspondence and raising the issue in the Prime Minister's video conferencing with all the states," he added.

Pawar urged the youths living in the backward areas of the state to take up jobs in the industrial sector as a vacuum has been created after a large number of migrant workers returned to their home states during the lockdown.

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After extending lockdown till May 30, the state has divided its COVID-19 zones as “red zones” and “non-red zones", instead of red, orange, and green zones - based on death count and doubling rate. As per the new definition, Maharashtra's red zones are Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgoan, Akola and Amravati, while the rest of the state are non-red zones. While stringent restrictions prevalent in the previous red zones, the rest of the state has been allowed to open up as per MHA's Lockdown 4.0 guidelines.

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