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.