Ensure adequate safety for journos: Info Minister

In the wake of unpreceeddented scale of the COVID-19 pandemic, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Tuesday urged the media owners to provide sufficient health protective equipment to journalists as they are performing their professional duties during Coronavirus crisis.
"The journalists are the front fighters in the fight against Coronavirus . . . my humble request to all media owners is to provide sufficient health protective and safety equipment to them before sending them to works," he said.
The minister made the call while inaugurating the distribution of health protective equipment among the journalists at Jatiya Press Club (JPC) here.
Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) organized the function to distribute the health protective equipment among the members of the organization.
Later, talking to journalists in front of JPC, Hasan criticised BNP leaders for their repeated comments on Coronavirus situation in the country and said, "My apprehension is that BNP may go to the extent of saying that the government is liable for the Coronavirus outbreak. Their (BNP) speeches sound like incoherent talks."Highlighting the global situation of COVID-19, he said the whole mankind is facing a mega challenge now due to the global pandemic.
In the programme, the minister said the whole mankind across the globe is fighting against an invisible power. There is no prior preparedness to combat against such power like Coronavirus as the people were busy fighting among themselves, he added.
He said the doctors, nurses, journalists, police, army and law enforcers and others are the front fighters in the war against Coronavirus and "I congratulated all of them who are working to prevent transmission of coronavirus."
He said it is their (media owners) duty to provide health protective equipment to their journalists. "Today I would like to request all media owners to provide adequate health protective equipment to journalists," he added.
The minister also urged the media owners not to terminate any journalist and worker and pay their salaries and arrears amid coronavirus pandemic.
"I humbly request the owners of all media outlets not to terminate any of their employees amid the pandemic and pay salaries and arrears to their staff before the Eid-ul-Fitr," he added.
He said the government has taken various steps so that media owners can pay salaries and arrears to journalists and employees.
About a demand of DUJ leaders, Hasan said every journalist can do his or her Coronavirus test at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) after showing official ID card.
He said the BSMMU authority is doing tests of the journalists on priority basis. "Besides, I also talked with the health secretary so that any affected journalist (COVID-19 positive) can get treatment on priority basis at a dedicated hospital," he added.
The AL joint general secretary prayed for the eternal peace of three journalists who died of COVID-19 and coronavirus-like symptoms, and sought early recovery of journalists infected with coronavirus.    -BSS