MOSCOW, July 27 (RAPSI) – The Government needs to think over an extension of support measures to persons facilitating the combat doctors and medical establishments wage against the pandemic, according to members of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council.

An invaluable contribution of health workers and volunteers in saving lives and health of the people has been praised by Chair of the Moscow Red Cross Office Igor Trunov during the ceremony of honoring Moscow health workers and volunteers for their services and mercy held by the body. Council members Eva Merkacheva and Igor Borisov attended the event. Trunov venerated the memory of 489 health workers, who died combating the pandemic; Merkacheva and Borisov thanked doctors, nurses, volunteers and all of those who saved people risking their own lives.

In the course of the event rights activists brought up an important issue that families of persons facilitating the work of doctors and medical establishment and assisting them in this work, for instance, volunteers, drivers, guards at medical establishments, and other support staff, who died when helping to combat the disease, deserve financial aid similar to that provided to families of health workers, who fell victims to COVID-19.

The Council finds it necessary to back this initiative and to ask the Government to extend the group of those entitled for pandemic-related financial aid.