Calls for compensation scheme for UK frontline workers with long Covid

Boris Johnson is being urged to launch a compensation scheme for frontline workers who are suffering from the long-term effects of coronavirus.

The all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus said the prime minister should recognise long Covid as an occupational disease, saying some sufferers have found it hard to return to work. 

A letter, signed by more than 60 MPs and peers, has been sent to Johnson.

Layla Moran, the APPG’s chair, said: “Long Covid is the hidden health crisis of the pandemic, and it is likely to have an enormous impact on society for many years to come.

“When it comes to frontline NHS, care and key workers, they were specifically asked to go to work and save lives while everyone else was asked to stay at home."

“They were exposed to an increased level of risk of catching the virus, often without adequate levels of PPE.”

The group wants the government to follow France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark, which have formally recognised Covid as an “occupational disease”.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2021