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China recognises scientists and medical experts on front line of coronavirus pandemic

  • Awards for innovation will be given to teams who treated patients in the initial epicentre of Wuhan and scientists on the ground
  • Observers see it as a way to boost morale and support for Communist Party, as Beijing seeks to ‘show the world it can bring a solution to the crisis’

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A Guangzhou Medical University team led by respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan is among those who will receive the National Award for Excellence in Innovation. Photo: China News Service
Holly Chik
As researchers around the world race to develop treatments and a vaccine for the new coronavirus, Beijing is recognising the medical experts and scientists leading efforts to fight the pandemic in China.
A team at Guangzhou Medical University led by respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan and experts at the makeshift Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan – where the first cases of the new virus were reported late last year – are among those who will receive the National Award for Excellence in Innovation.

Backed by Beijing, the awards for more than 300 teams and individuals were announced on Monday by the China Association for Science and Technology, a non-governmental organisation of industry professionals.

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Also on the list are medical teams from the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army and the Peking University Third Hospital, which were sent to help treat Covid-19 patients in Wuhan. At the time, hospitals and medical staff were overwhelmed and struggling to treat people with the pneumonia-like illness.

Leishenshan Hospital was built at speed in January to treat Covid-19 patients. A team of medical experts at the hospital will receive an innovation award. Photo: Xinhua
Leishenshan Hospital was built at speed in January to treat Covid-19 patients. A team of medical experts at the hospital will receive an innovation award. Photo: Xinhua
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Scientists fighting on the virus front line will also be honoured. They include Zhang Boli, president of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, who led the TCM treatment programme in Wuhan and is one of 29 award winners who will receive a medal as higher recognition of his achievements. Bin Cao, a respiratory expert and vice-president of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, will also be recognised for helping to lead the battle in Wuhan.

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