THE Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that it is striving to speed up the payment of P1 billion COVID-19 sickness and death compensation for eligible health care workers and support staff.
The DOH said in a statement that it had already released Joint Circular 2022-0002 with the Department of Budget and Management for the issuance of the P1.08-billion benefits.
The benefits are for the health personnel in all public and private health facilities who “were infected by the virus and/or died while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic while in the line of duty.”
Those with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections will get P15,000, those with severe or critical cases will receive P100,000, and the legal heirs of those who died in the line of duty will receive P1 million.
Beneficiaries include both medical and health allied personnel who provide direct health care to patients, and also technical, administrative, and support staff within the health facilities.
Clinical consultants, resident physicians and fellows in training, duly accredited volunteer workers, including “but not limited to swabbers, vaccinators, encoders, bar coders, contact tracers, and ambulance drivers, as well as Barangay Health Emergency Response Team members and barangay health workers provided they are assigned to health facilities or health-related establishments,” are also covered.
The coverage period is from January 1, 2022 until the state of public health emergency nationwide is lifted.
