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Should the government compensate for COVID deaths?
India’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Indian government is bound by law to compensate the families of those who died from COVID.
The National Disaster Management Authority now has six weeks to frame guidelines for the payouts.
The court says the disaster management body will decide on the amount of money, which may not be too high given the current economic conditions of the country.
Grim milestone
The verdict now adds to the mounting criticism of Modi’s government handling of the pandemic, with India’s death toll about to reach 400,000 this week.
The coronavirus variant first detected in India has spread to more than 50 territories.
The coronavirus variant first detected in India has spread to 53 territories
Last month, the World Health Organization has received information from unofficial sources that the Indian variant has been found in seven other territories
This now takes the potential total to 60.
The report said B.1.617 had shown increased transmissibility, while disease severity and risk of infection were under investigation.