Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced to give Rs 15 lakh compensation to families of working journalists if they die due to coronavirus. Naveen Patnaik said that are dedicatedly working to raise awareness about the pandemic. Chief Minister’s Office tweeted to give the information regarding this. The decision was taken days after 53 journalists in Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19. Coronavirus Cases in India Reach 28,380, Death Toll Stands at 886 After 60 COVID-19 Patients Die in Past 24 Hours.

CMO Odisha tweeted, “CM @Naveen_Odisha has announced Rs 15 lakh compassionate assistance to families of working journalists who may lose life to #COVID19 infection. CM said journalists are dedicatedly working to raise awareness about the pandemic during this difficult times.” ICMR Advisory Asks States Not to Use COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits Procured From China's Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics.

Odisha CMO's Tweet:

In Odisha, 108 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far. Only one death is reported in the state. Thirty-five coronavirus patients have also recovered until now. Earlier in the day, Odisha joined Meghalaya and Goa in demand for Covid-19 lockdown extension beyond May 3. The demand was raised on Monday during a video conference of chief ministers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prevailing coronavirus situation.

Last week, more than 50 journalists tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai. During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan on April 16 & 17 for COVID-19 testing of scribes, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected swab samples of 171 media persons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen. ‘Out of the 171 media persons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus,’ informed BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2020 08:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).