MOSCOW, September 22 (RAPSI) — An additional amount of 2.9 billion rubles (about $41 million) has been allocated for special one-time payments for health workers who help COVID-19 patients, according to an order approved by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The Cabinet reminds that according to a decree of President Vladimir Putin, signed in May 2020, doctors, nurses and paramedics, as well as ambulance drivers, who, while helping patients with coronavirus, became infected themselves, have the right to additional insurance guarantees.

As Mishustin said at a government meeting held on September 16, about 12.5 billion rubles ($165 million at the current exchange rate) have already been allocated for insurance payments to medical workers this year. The new tranche from the reserve fund will make it possible to fully finance this support measure.