Maria, a 24-year-old female doctor in the Moscow suburbs, expected to be paid more if there were patients with nCoV, but in reality her income decreased.

In a small town 200 km from Moscow, Maria visits patients at home and usually receives about 3 calls a day.

When President Vladimir Putin pledged to provide an additional 80,000 rubles ($ 1,100) a month to doctors treating Covid-19 patients, Maria thought the money would offset the work overload and the risk of infection.

"I was hoping if I contacted the infected person, I would get paid more," she said.

However, the reality is different.

Her monthly income is not fixed, but the highest is 36,000 rubles (nearly 500 USD), thanks to doing two different jobs and overtime.

"I may have been infected with the virus, but instead of being supported, my salary is less than usual," Maria said.

The government has promised to pay an additional 25,000-80,000 rubles in monthly salaries and allowances to doctors and drivers on the front line against Covid-19.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin admitted this issue.

"There are problems with how to pay, even in the hardest-hit areas, where doctors' workloads are maximized," he said.

With more than 242,000 nCoV infections and new cases rising steadily, Russia is the third largest epidemic region in the world.

Andrei Konoval, president of the Federation of Action for Healthcare Workers, said President Putin's instructions had lost their original correctness when transmitted through the bureaucracy of the health care system.

In some areas, health care facilities also calculate how long doctors spend on minute exposure to infections to reduce money.

"In fact, ambulance teams that receive emergency calls for high blood pressure are at higher risk of infection, because they are less equipped with protection and patients do not know if they are infected," Konoval said.

This has led to a surge in the earlier frustration of physicians, especially after recent "optimization" reforms that caused thousands of clinics to close.

"It was like a cruel joke to the medical staff," Konoval said, adding that last week, the union had filed a petition to the government to fully pay the money and called for an expansion of the criteria.

Konoval said that the Kremlin's statement created tension between doctors and society at a time when most Russians were having financial difficulties.

"Rumors that doctors are being paid a lot during the pandemic are pressing for doctors who are still working to earn every penny," he said.

Most Russian medical doctors do not require extra money because in this country, health is seen as a service rather than a job that needs to be rewarded.

"Patients tell us that we have to be paid well for working so hard," Maria said.