Amid the unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Manipur government has decided to declare all accredited working journalists in the state as Covid frontline warriors.
The state government will now vaccinate the journalists against COVID-19 on priority.
"This Government recognises the work that working journalists perform to collect and disseminate news. The risk they put into their personal safety during the COVID-19 pandemic is no less than other frontline workers. In recognition of all the accredited working journalist as Frontline Covid Warriors, the State Government will now vaccinate all the journalists on top priority. Please stay safe and continue to serve the people with same vigour as you have always been doing," Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said in a Facebook post.
On Wednesday, the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editor’s Guild Manipur (EGM), it its emergency meeting, had decided to urge the state government to recognise working journalists and other media workers as frontline warriors and announce the same.
Apart from Manipur, several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Jharkhand have already announced to vaccinate journalists on priority, declaring them frontline workers.
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