Yesterday Maharashtra government announced Rs 50 lakh insurance cover to all the government,contarctual and outsourced workers who are battling the pandemic.

The circular issued on Friday by Finance Secretary Manoj Shaunik said the insurance cover will apply to all the staffers attached to district administration,police,homeguards,anganwadi,food and civil supplies,water supply and sanitation departments and survey workers.To avail the insurance district collector or head of the departments needs to inform if the worker was on duty for 14 days prior to infection.

Yesterday the state also announced that doctors who are working on bonds and contracts will receive a pay hike as they are the real warrior to save our country.The 'pay-hike' information was shared by cabinet minister Mr. Aaditya Thackeray. He has also confirmed that the previous order of pay deduction will be void. He reported that the doctors are the real fighter and we should recognize their unbelievable contribution during this pandemic.

The doctors who are working in the tribal areas are going to receive Rs.75,000, previously it was Rs.60,000. At the same time, the specialist doctors will receive Rs.85,000 as compared to the earlier Rs.70,000. The Chief Minister's office also confirmed that the other MBBS doctors who are working in the other areas would also get a salary rise from Rs.55,000 to Rs.70,000. A specialist doctor will get Rs.80,000 instead of Rs.65,000.

As Maharashtra turned into a hotspot with the maximum number of cases in the country, Doctors bore the brunt of the pandemic with several of them succumbing to the infection as they went on facing the challenge. The nonavailability of PPE suits and masks is also not helping either.

Recently, facing an acute shortage of medical practitioners in the rising COVID-19 battle in the state, and especially in the city of Mumbai, government-issued letters to doctors working/situated in the nearby areas to report for COVID-19 duty of 15 days. Non-attendance of duty would be considered a breach of the Medical Council of India Code of Ethics and would bring an action under various acts, noted the circular.

Meanwhile, the number of Coronavirus cases is increasing day-by-day in many districts of Maharashtra after many citizens started returning to their respective home towns. With nine positive reports Friday morning, the total number of Coronavirus affected patients has reached to 112 in Ahmednagar.

Six new patients found in Sindhudurg, taking the toll to 30 and five more patients confirmed in Nanded, taking the total number to 143.

A total of 698 Coronavirus patients were discharged in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the number of recovered persons in the state to 18,616.The state has reported 2,598 new Coronavirus patients, taking the tally of cases in the state to 59,546. With 85 COVID-19 patients dying, 38 of them in Mumbai, the death toll due to the pandemic rose to 1,982. No. of active cases of COVID-19 reached to 38,939.To facilitate stranded citizens, a Shramik Special train is scheduled to leave for West Bengal from Nanded this afternoon by 4 pm.