COVID-19: WE ARE FRONT-LINE WORKERS; MORTUARY WORKERS TELL GHANA HEALTH SERVICE.
The Public Relation Officer of Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana, Nana Wiafe, has appealed to Ministry of health to factor Mortury Workers into front-Liner workers category in the fight against Covid-19 due to the risk associated with their work to enable them to share in the outstanding benefits expected to be announced.
The call follows President’s announcement of a relief package for all front-line health workers on Sunday 5th April, as part of the presidential update on Covid 19.
Speaking to Osikani Frimpong Manso on Adekyemu Nsem on Spice Fm 91.9, Nana Wiafe said that the Mortuary is the final destination for the victims of covid-19 who might loose their lives. The Mortuary workers are expected to risk their lives in preserving the corpse till the family finally comes for the corpse.
This put the mortuary workers in the front-line toward the fight against the deadly covid 19 therefore they must be included in all benefits being announced by the ministry.
” if a Covid 19 patients die, the mortuary is the final destination for the preservation of their corpse therefore we are equally exposed to the risk, I call on ministry of health to consider the mortuary workers under all the benefits for health workers in the front-line against the Covid 19”.
The president has announced “an insurance package, with an assured sum of three hundred and fifty thousand cedis (GH¢350,000) for each health personnel and allied professional at the forefront of the fight with a daily allowance of one hundred and fifty cedis (GH¢150) expected to be paid to contact tracers.”
Apart from that, he said “government has also decided that all health workers will not pay taxes on their emoluments for the next three months, i.e. April, May and June. Furthermore, all front-line health workers will receive an additional allowance of fifty percent (50%) of their basic salary per month, i.e. for March, April, May and June and the March allowance will be paid alongside that of April.”
The Ministry of Transport is also said to be making available free ‘Aayalolo’ buses to convey health workers in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa to and from work, along specific routes, for the entire duration of the restrictions.”
Hon. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu,Minister of health at the last ministry of information press briefing on Covid 19 said that the ministry is yet to redefine front-line workers in other to bring clarity among the health fraternity as to who qualifies for the benefit
Story by Kwame Offei
