Immediately after arriving in Wuhan, she and some of her colleagues started work after midnight.

Xu said there is high demand among the team members for protective clothing, and she is regularly taking antibacterial drugs.

"We will be able to save as many lives as possible only when we ourselves stay healthy," she said.

Zhang Lilian, another nurse who was among the first group of Shanghai medical workers sent to Wuhan, said that when she initially entered the wards, she felt "overwhelmingly frightened".

"A colleague and I held each other's hands when we walked into the wards after changing into protective suits. We knew we were in central Wuhan and were the focus of world attention," said Zhang, who works in Shanghai at Jinshan District Hospital Combining Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine.

"We looked at each other and saw tears. The tears were a mixture of fear, nervousness and excitement ...We had no option but to pluck up courage and do our work to save lives," she said.

Before leaving for Wuhan on Feb 9, doctors and nurses from Huashan Hospital lined up in the lobby to have their hair cut. Most men had their heads shaved and women's long hair was cut short.

Zhang Yeqi, a male nurse from the hospital, said, "Shorter hair is more convenient for us as we need to don protective clothing when working."