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| file photo |
At least 53 journalists have tested positive for the novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in India.
About 25 of the journalists are said to be from a single
television station in Chennai, a city of about seven million people.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said of the 167
journalists results received so far, 53 came in positive with the likelihood of
more cases as more test results trickle in.
“Out of 167 samples, 53 have come positive for COVID 19. The
number could go up,” Amey Ghole, BMC health committee member told HuffPost
India.
In a statement by
Gurbir Singh, the president of Mumbai Press Club, most of the
journalists are “asymptomatic and have been quarantined”.
The president asked the regional authorities to provide
insurance cover for journalists as “frontline personnel” too.
“Most of the journalists – photojournalists, video
journalists, and reporters – are fortunately asymptomatic and have been
quarantined and being looked after by the BMC health authorities,” the club
president said
“Most media houses have shut their offices and have not
provided any protective gear or special insurance to these frontline personnel.
“However, they continue to demand reports and visuals and
expect the journalists to move around the city risking life and limb… The state
government has been providing special insurance cover for all emergency and
essential categories of workers who are tackling the coronavirus pandemic for
the sum of Rs.50 lakh ($65,778).
“Since journalists are performing an ‘essential service’, it
is requested that the category of working journalists be brought under the same
umbrella with a cover of Rs.50 lakh and provided the protection of an essential
worker.”
India has recorded 21,700 cases since the disease broke out
in the country in March, with 686 deaths so far.
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