Health workers and carriers who die from coronavirus will receive a payment of £60,000, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.
He said: “Of course, nothing replaces the loss of a loved one. But we want to do everything we can to support families who are dealing with this grief.”
Speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, he said 21,092 people had now died of Covid-19.
Mr Hancock said: “Sadly these deaths figures include 82 NHS colleagues and 16 colleagues who work in social care.
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“They dedicated their lives to caring for others, and I feel a deep personal sense of duty that we must care for their loved ones.”
“The Government is setting up a life assurance scheme for NHS and social care front line colleagues.
“Families of staff who die from coronavirus in the course of their essential frontline work will receive a £60,000 payment.”
He said the government was also “looking closely” at other professions where people may need help.
Mr Hancock also issued a plea for people with illnesses other than coronavirus to use the NHS and seek help. He said the NHS had capacity to treat other illnesses, but people appeared to be staying away in a bid to help the health service.
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Government would announce changes to the lockdown “in the coming days”.
But Mr Johnson, who is back at work full time after recovering from coronavirus, dampened any hopes of a swift end to the lockdown.
He said: “I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS.
“And I ask you to contain your impatience because I believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict.”
Mr Johnson will observe the minute’s silence for frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus on Tuesday.
And he plans to speak to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer this week, as he seeks to build a consensus approach to altering the lockdown, Downing Street said.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out the devastating impact the lockdown is having on the economy, as he warned that the Government could not stop jobs being lost.
He told the House of Commons: “More than 1.5 million new claims have been made to Universal Credit.
“Over four million jobs have now been furloughed.
“Survey evidence suggests a quarter of businesses have paused trading.
“These are already tough times. There will be more to come.
“And while our interventions have saved millions of jobs and businesses, we can’t save every job and every business.”
Mr Sunak announced new measures to support small businesses during the lockdown, including loans worth up to £50,000 with the Government guaranteeing 100% of the risks.
He said the “bounce back loans” would have the interest paid by the Government for the first 12 months. Mr Sunak acknowledged that some small firms were struggling to access credit, and by guaranteeing the full value of the loan he hopes that lenders will allow companies to borrow the funds they need.
The latest daily update from NHS England showed a further 329 people have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 18,749.
The number of deaths by region were as follows:
East of England 34
London 87
Midlands 55
North East & Yorkshire 55
North West 41
South East 38
South West 19
