Health Ministry directs states to give additional incentive to ASHA workers for Covid duty

Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday directed all the states to provide financial incentives to ASHA workers for undertaking COVID-19 related activities. The order also said that in addition to theses incentives, states should ensure that these workers are supplied with adequate protective equipment as a safety measure.

The Health Ministry said that in view of the additional workload on account to COVID-19 related work, additional incentives of Rs. 1000 per month should be paid to the ASHA workers. These additional incentives may be paid to them from the period of their engagement in this work between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020.

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The Health Ministry asked all the states to ensure that the ASHA workers receive incentives of Rs. 2000 for the routine and recurring activities and they should also continue to get other incentives for activities such as JSY, HBNC, etc. as per national/state norms during this period.

The Health Ministry also acknowledged the efforts made by the ASHA workers across the country in the fight against COVID-19 with regard to various initiatives taken by them related to COVID-19, and additional responsibilities related to non-COVID essential services amid the lockdown.

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'Zero tolerance' for attacks

In the fight against COVID-19, some parts of the country have also seen attacks on health workers and others on the front line of the battle. Adopting "zero tolerance" for attacks on health workers fighting the COVID-19 battle, the government on Wednesday proposed making such offences non-bailable with a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and Rs 5 lakh fine.

"Our government has zero-tolerance against violence and harassment targeting doctors, nurses, paramedics, and ASHA workers when they are doing their best to fight the pandemic," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said after a union cabinet meeting.

I&B minister Javadekar said a person can be sentenced to anywhere between three months and five years in jail, besides a fine between Rs 50,000 and two lakh, for crimes against healthcare workers under the new provision.

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At the meeting, the cabinet also approved Rs 15,000 crore for ''India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package'' for setting up dedicated treatment facilities and laboratories as part of an urgent response to contain the pandemic. The fund will be utilized in three phases.

The nationwide tally of coronavirus positive cases reported by various states and UTs, in the meantime, crossed 21,000 with over 680 deaths.

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(with agencies input)