France announces €1,500 bonus for health workers on Covid-19 front line
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France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said healthcare staff working in areas most impacted by the new coronavirus would receive a bonus of 1,500 euros as well as higher pay than usual for their extra hours.
Philippe was speaking after a cabinet meeting that decided on a 110 billion euros rescue package to support the economy through the coronavirus crisis.
This plan includes 24 billion euros for workers on partial unemployment because their companies have shut down amid the country’s lockdown since March 17. It also includes 8 billion euros for emergency health expenses, including masks and medical equipment, and a special aid allocated to French poorest households.
France is forecasting an 8% drop in growth this year because of virus confinement measures as it faces its worst recession since World War II.
The number of people who died from coronavirus infection in France jumped by 1,438 or 9.1% to 17,167 in the biggest single-day increase as a number of nursinghomes reported cumulative tolls following the three-day Easter weekend, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The number of people who died in hospitals rose by 514 or 5% to 10,643, less than the 541 reported on Tuesday, but the cumulative death toll in nursing homes rose by 924 or 17% to 6,524, compared with 221 on Tuesday.
