Intensive care nurses in France will receive a €100 monthly bonus in recognition of their efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Tuesday.
The payment will begin in January and some 24,000 nurses will receive it. Castex made the announcement during a tour of an intensive care unit in Créteil, southeast of Paris.
France has been dealing with hospital workers striking over working conditions as well as staff shortages. An October report from France’s Scientific Council estimated that one in five beds in public hospitals remain closed due to a shortage of medical staff.
The country has also been hit with a surge in COVID cases due to the Omicron variant. On Monday, the government announced new rules to reduce virus transmission.
The government also published new measures Tuesday that broaden the sale of rapid antigen tests beyond pharmacies until January 31.
Louise Guillot contributed reporting.
