Prepare for the worst

She was prepared for the worst when she entered the isolation ward.

On Jan 24, Lunar New Year's Eve, she called her oldest daughter into the bedroom alone.

She said she couldn't look the girl directly in the eye because she was on the verge of tears. She told the 14-year-old where she could find the title deeds to their house.

When the girl showed alarm at the tenor of the conversation, Zhou told her: "It's nothing. It's just to keep you informed."

That same night, Zhou learned that a doctor she knew had died from the virus.

"I was shocked and saddened," she said. "As a medical worker, I was scared. I cried in secret for a long time, hiding under my quilt."

Zhou was supposed to have the next day off, as it was Lunar New Year's Day. Instead, she went to work.

"My mind was filled with the epidemic. The situation wouldn't get any better if I stayed at home, so I might as well go to the hospital," she said.

She asked her husband to take their two daughters, one just 15-months-old, to stay with her mother-in-law. She didn't want them put at risk. She hasn't seen her family since.

She led a team of about 80 nurses. There was a heavy workload, so the pressure was enormous. Materials had to be distributed and she had to train and manage nurses who were treating severely ill patients and dealing with death on the wards.

Many of the nurses had been trained in other fields, so they worked in other departments. Now, all their attention was turned to the virus. They were full of questions for Zhou about medical procedures.

From late January to early February, the number of coronavirus patients in Wuhan surged by about 20,000. The emergency rooms were full. Thousands of those thrown into panic showed real symptoms.

"It was like there was no end in sight. We didn't know when the outbreak would be brought under control. There was a feeling of desperation," Zhou said.

She remembers a doctor in her department asking her to take a photo of him before he entered the isolation ward. "He said it might be his last photo in protective clothing. We didn't know if we would be infected and what would happen to us," she recalled.