Chandigarh: Covid victims’ kin to get ₹50,000 relief

The Chandigarh administration has announced ₹50,000 ex gratia assistance to each of the families of residents who died due to Covid

The Chandigarh administration on Saturday announced ₹50,000 ex gratia assistance to each of the families of residents who died due to Covid-19.

As many as 820 Chandigarh residents have succumbed to Covid since the outbreak in March last year. (AFP)

As many as 820 Chandigarh residents have succumbed to the virus since the outbreak in March last year.

The decision has been taken in view of the Supreme Court’s order in a case involving compensation to families of Covid-19 victims. The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be disbursing the relief.

“The claimant will have to submit their application through a form to the DDMA along with specified documents, including the death certificate certifying the cause of death. The authority will ensure that the process of the claim verification, sanction and the final disbursement of ex gratia payment is done through a robust and people-friendly procedure,” said a UT spokesperson.

Panel formed to address grievances of applicants

The administration has also constituted a grievance redressal committee, which will be headed by the joint commissioner, (medical officer of health), municipal corporation, Chandigarh, as the chairman. Its members include UT’s director, health service, and heads of medicine and pulmonary departments at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32.

The committee will look into the grievance raised by any person on issuance of certificate as prescribed by the ministry of health and family welfare and Indian Council of Medical Research guidelines.

Since the first case reported on March 18, 2021, Chandigarh’s tally has climbed to 65,443, as on Saturday. An 82-year-old woman who resided in Sector 18 was the first to succumb to the virus on May 3 last year. Bulk of the cases and deaths were recorded during the second wave that peaked in May this year.

While 15,648 people got infected and 99 died in April, May accounted for 17,399 cases and 275 deaths. Since then, the number of cases and deaths fell sharply with a slight uptick seen recently, raising concerns of a third wave.

Tricity’s daily tally drops to single digit after 6 days

After staying in double digits for six straight days, the tricity’s Covid-19 tally dropped to eight on Saturday.

Chandigarh led with five new cases, followed by two in Panchkula and just one in Mohali.

Last Saturday, the tricity had reported just five cases, including two in Chandigarh, but the daily tally had been rising since then, reaching 26 on Friday. On Thursday, Chandigarh had recorded nine cases, highest single-day tally in over four months while another eight cases surfaced on Friday.

In view of the uptick, the UT administration on Friday also issued an advisory, asking residents to come forward for vaccination and follow strict Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.

Meanwhile, no death due to the virus has been reported in Chandigarh and Panchkula this month, though Mohali has recorded three so far. The tricity’s active caseload stands at 134, with Chandigarh leading with 52 patients, followed by 46 in Mohali and 36 in Panchkula.

International returnees being monitored: UT

Meanwhile, the UT administration on Saturday released a statement to share the surveillance activities being carried out for international returnees in view of the emergence of a new variant of concern, Omicron.

“On their arrival, the passengers are categorised. Those passengers from high-risk countries (South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe) have to undergo RT-PCR testing on their arrival in India compulsorily and are quarantined for seven days,” stated the release.

The administration added that all such returnees are again tested (RT-PCR) by the Chandigarh health department after eight days even if they have tested negative at the airport. The police department is also facilitating the health department in regularly monitoring high-risk returnees, as per guidelines for international arrivals given by the ministry of health and family welfare, it said.