COVID-19 Allowance Distributed To Frontline Workers Exceed MVR 100 Million

The latest statistics from the Ministry of Finance show that as of 28^th February, a total of MVR 101.97 million has been issued to 10,945 frontline workers as allowance.

Authorities announced the "COVID-19 Frontline Allowance" as all frontline workers have been critical in the effort for protecting the health of individuals amidst the pandemic whereas the demanding work tasked with them has been conducted diligently and with great care while bearing unprecedented risks.

Accordingly, frontline workers have been grouped into three risk categories which determine the value of the allowance being paid out to them. The first category makes up high-risk workers who must come in direct contact with COVID-19 patients. They are given an allowance of MVR 500 per every working day. The second category comprises of medium-risk workers who do not come in direct contact with COVID-19 patients but do come in contact with high-risk workers. They are given an allowance of MVR 250 per working day. The last category is the low-risk workers who become eligible upon logging in more than 6 hours of work at the National Emergency Operation Centre each day. Their allowance is set at MVR 200 per day.

The Ministry of Finance notes that allowances are being distributed through a well-established manner with “proper documentation and authorization needed for audits and internal control, promoting accountability and due process.”