The central government on Saturday declared COVID-19 as a national ‘disaster’ and announced to provide ex-gratia relief of Rs 4 lakh to the families whose member died of the virus.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in a letter to states and unionterritories stated: “Keeping in view the spread of COVID-19 virus in Indiathe declaration of it as pandemic by World Health Organisation, the Centralgovernment has decided to treat it as a notified disaster and announced toprovide assistance under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).”
The Centre said that cost of hospitalization for managingCOVID-19 patients would be at the rates fixed by the state governments. Thestate government can use SDRF found for providing temporary accommodation,food, clothing and medical care for people affected and sheltered in quarantinecamps, other than home quarantine, or for cluster containment operations.
The state executive committeewill decide the number of quarantine camps, their duration and the number ofpersons in such camps. “Period can be extended by the committee beyond theprescribed limit subject to condition that expenditure on this account shouldnot exceed 25 percent of SDRF allocation for the year,” the Ministry ofHome Affairs notification stated. The cost of consumables for sample collectionwould be taken from the funds which can be sued to support for checking,screening and contact tracing.
Further, funds can also be withdrawn for setting up additional testing laboratories within the government set up. The state has also to bear the cost of personal protection equipment for healthcare, municipal, police and fire authorities. Further SDRF money can also be used for procuring thermal scanners and ventilation and other necessary equipment.