TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — At least 172 hotels will provide medical workers in Taiwan with preferential room offers to help them weather the COVID-19 crisis, the authorities announced Friday (June 11).

Transportation and Communications Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國財) said at a daily COVID response briefing the ministry is working with 13 municipalities to offer hotel discounts to medical staff fighting on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus.

The move comes after a number of healthcare workers contracted COVID when there was a spike in local transmissions beginning in May. Some have sought to live separately from their family to reduce the risk of virus transmission, but finding suitable accommodation can prove a challenge, according to Wang.

Information on businesses participating in the program can be found on the website created by the Tourism Bureau. The offers are touted as “bargain prices,” and the number of available lodgings is expected to grow.

Taiwan has seen an exodus of nurses over the past four months due to the mounting pressure of the pandemic and the systematic issue of wage stagnation. Stories about nursing workers suffering discrimination have also surfaced, including one complaining about being forbidden to return home by her mother-in-law.