The Press Council of India (PCI) has urged the Centre and the state governments to declare journalists who died of coronavirus as COVID-19 warriors.

In a letter to the governments, the PCI wrote, "The Council recommends to the Central Government to include the journalists, who died due to Covid-19, in the category of Covid warriors like the doctors and others and confer them with the same benefits."

Other press association
s like the Indian Journalists' Union, Indian News Cameramen Association, and National Union of Journalists have also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare such dead journalists as Covid-19 warriors.

The Centre had earlier declared a compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs each for all doctors and other frontline workers who have died fighting the pandemic.