Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

AsiaWire / Ganxi Cancer Hospital

A hospital in China has given three health workers wads of cash each worth nearly 10,000 GBP as a reward for working on the front line in virus-hit Hubei Province for two months.

Ganxi Cancer Hospital, in the city of Pingxiang in south-western China’s Guizhou Province, gave two nurses and one ICU doctor monetary rewards of 86,666 (9,860 GBP) after they returned from a 57-day stint in the COVID-19 epicentre.

Images show the block of banknotes which were later handed to the health workers, who were among 57 doctors and nurses from Pingxiang who assisted overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the central Chinese province, of which Wuhan is the capital.

After the Pingxiang government held a ceremony to welcome back the front-line medics after some two months away, Ganxi Cancer Hospital hosted its own event to reward its three staff.

The private hospital chose the numbers 8 and 6 – ‘ba’ and ‘liu’ – which are considered auspicious as they sound similar to words meaning ‘wealth’ and ‘success’.

The intensive care doctor and two nurses were also given two weeks of paid leave, as well as free meals at the hospital canteen for them and their immediate family for the next year.

According to reports, it was the first time the hospital had given such a large cash reward to staff members.

Other private hospitals have announced similar cash rewards for their front-line staff, but those in public, state-funded facilities are unlikely to be offered the same, reports said.

At the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China in February, Beijing announced amendments to work insurance coverage, allowing for doctors and nurses to be compensated should they be infected or succumb to COVID-19.

More than 40,000 Hubei Volunteers travelled to central China – many to epicentre Wuhan – to assist hospitals overflowing with COVID-19 patients.

The last group of medics, 180 health workers from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, left Wuhan last week.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.