NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday announced a slew of measures for beneficiaries of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) who are afflicted by Covid-19, including free medical care to insured persons as well as family members in any of the 21 ESI hospitals designated as dedicated Covid care centres and reimbursement for Covid treatment at private institutions.
The labour ministry said each ESIC hospital will earmark at least 20% of its beds for Covid-19 care to ESI staff, pensioners and beneficiaries. It said an insured person under ESIC, who is unable to attend to work due to Covid, can claim sickness benefit for the period of absence for up to 91 days.
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For migrants, hunger deadlier than Covid Labour economists have highlighted how the loss of work and the absence of govt support are forcing people to leave their workplaces
Aslam Ansari has had no work for the past four days.
The migrant worker wants to go back home not for fear of catching Covid but to escape starvation.
The tailor and his family of six live in a one-room dwelling close to Kalwa police station in Thane, near Mumbai. On Thursday, the family from Dumri block in Giridih, Jharkhand, had rations to last just three to four days.
“Once the food runs out, we’ll return to Jharkhand. I have tried very hard; there’s no work now,” said Aslam, who worked at a factory, stitching clothes for small children and earning about Rs 15,000 a month.