Covid-19: allowances issued to frontliners exceed MVR 100 million

The amount issued as allowances for frontline workers exposed to varying levels of risk in the Maldives Covid-19 response efforts, has exceeded MVR 100 million.

According to latest statistics publicized by the Ministry of Finance, a total of MVR 101.97 million had been issued as frontline allowances up until February 28.

The allowances were issued to 10,945 frontliners.

Authorities have been disbursing allowances to frontline workers in the country’s Covid-19 response efforts after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced the decision on May 7.

The allowances are disbursed in three main categories; the first one comprises of high-risk workers who are required to come into direct contact with Covid-19 patients. Coming at second, medium-risk workers are those that require to work with high-risk workers but do not come into direct contact with Covid-19 patients. The third category, the low-risk category, is for workers of the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) who undertake more than six-hour shifts per day.

A MVR 500 allowance is given to high-risk workers on a daily basis and MVR 250 is allocated for the second category workers per day. Workers under the third category are entitled to MVR 200 allowances per day.

Frontliners have been critical in the Covid-19 response efforts in safeguarding the country’s residents from the virus and their work has been undertaken very “diligently” with “great care”. These doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other frontliners are exposed to unprecedented risk since the virus was discovered in Maldives on 7 March 2020.

Earlier, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer noted that allowances are being disbursed under an established system and that they are being paid with “proper documentation and authorization needed for audits and internal control, promoting accountability and due process.”