Chennai
Doctors who are put on COVID duty added that no special allowances have been announced for them. The Health Department had earlier announced double pay for COVID service doctors and postgraduate medical students for the first month of their service in isolation wards. However, the promise has not been kept. As per government policy, only permanent healthcare staff would be given solatium. The Rs two lakh relief announced for all the frontline workers who contract the infection has not been allocated to the service doctors and PG students.
“The service rendered by the medicos is no less than any other healthcare staff during the pandemic. The students are kept in quarantine for a week as most of them who test positive usually show symptoms between day 5-10 after duty, forcing extension of quarantine and isolation. Despite all the difficulties, there is no increment or additional benefits announced by the government,” said Dr S Perumal Pillai, an office-bearer of the association.
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