From Thursday next week, the government is to pay the families of people who died of COVID-19 a NT$100,000 “funeral and condolence subsidy,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
As of yesterday, 730 people had died of COVID-19 in Taiwan, official data showed.
The spouse of the deceased would have priority in receiving the subsidy, followed by any children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and grandparents, ministry official Su Chao-ju (蘇昭如) said.
Foreign nationals are also eligible for the subsidy, the ministry said.
People who are eligible for the payment would receive a notice from the ministry, but would still have to apply for the funds, Su said.
After an application is approved, the money would be wired to the applicant’s designated bank account or a NT$100,000 bill of exchange would be mailed to the applicant, Su added.
People who have received a similar benefit from a local government can still claim the state subsidy, which would be drawn from the Cabinet’s COVID-19 relief package, Su said.
A person can claim more than one subsidy if there are two or more people in their family who died of COVID-19, Su said.
The funds are intended to show that “the government is with them during this difficult period,” Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said last month.
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