Global compensation initiatives

SOME governments across the world are providing various types of financial relief to the families who lost loved ones to Covid-19. While a few took proactive measures to dispense assistance, others have been brought to court by their citizens to compel payouts.

In India, the Supreme Court directed the central government to make an ex-gratia payment to the families of those who died from Covid-19, and allowed the National Disaster Management Authority to set an appropriate amount for compensation. Initially, the two lawyers who brought the case to court had asked for 400,000 rupees (RM22,760) for each Covid-19 death. The Indian government also announced financial assistance for those orphaned by Covid-19. India has an official Covid-19 death toll of around 414,000, but studies indicate that the actual number may be closer to 3.4 million and 4.7 million.

Meanwhile, some 500 relatives of Covid-19 victims in Italy are claiming €100mil (RM500mil) from their regional and national governments, citing Italy’s poor pandemic management. Italy has recorded over 128, 000 deaths since the outbreak.

In Belgium, the government has established a fund to provide financial support to volunteer frontliners who died from Covid-19. It also gave temporary recognition in 2020 of Covid-19 as an occupational disease in the health sector, which provides death compensation to relatives.

In Ireland, families of frontline health workers who die due to Covid-19 are provided special compensation. The United Kingdom provides Covid-19 death compensation of £60,000 (RM352,685) for families of frontline health and social care workers, although other frontliners and key workers have also requested that the benefit be extended to them.

In April this year, the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency began providing financial assistance for funeral expenses incurred for deaths related to Covid-19. New York, which saw more than 50,000 Covid-19 related deaths, provides benefits for bereaved families of frontliner government workers who died from Covid-19.

In Malaysia, the government is also providing financial assistance of RM1mil for funeral arrangements of non-Muslim Malaysians under the B40 group at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital One Stop Centre (Pusara HKL) while Muslims can seek assistance from the religious departments in their state.