Five MBBS seats will be reserved for kids of coronavirus warriors: Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi : The Central government on Thursday announced that they will be reserving five MBBS seats for the kids of coronavirus warrior, introducing a new category called ‘wards of Covid warriors’ for the academic year 2020-21.

Dr Harsh Vardhan informed about the development and mentioned the seats may be allocated for selection and nomination of candidates from among wards of "Covid warriors", who lost their life due to Covid or died accidentally on account of Covid-related duty. "This will honour the solemn sacrifice of all Covid warriors who served with selfless dedication," he stated, adding that the state or UT government will certify eligibility for this category.

In a statement, the ministry said, “The selection of candidates will be made by the Medical Council Committee (MCC) through online application on the basis of rank obtained in the NEET-2020 conducted by National Testing Agency.”

"Private hospital staff and retired/volunteer/ local urban bodies/ contracted/ daily wage/ ad-hoc/ outsourced staff requisitioned by states/central hospitals/ autonomous hospitals of central/ states/UTs, AIIMS and Institutes of National Importance (INIs)/ hospitals of central ministries drafted for COVID-19-related responsibilities are all included," Vardhan said.

Meanwhile, India's total number of confirmed coronavirus cases crossed 9-million-mark on November 19, 2020. The national recovery rate has improved to 93.58 % with 83,83,602 recovered cases which exceeded active cases by 79,40,299, the Health Ministry said.