Spring Festival is traditionally a time for Wang to reunite with her mother in their hometown, but not this year.

"I didn't tell her about the volunteer work at the very beginning, but she learned about it from a media report. I played down the epidemic so that she would not worry too much, and comforted her by explaining that I take all the necessary protective measures," she said.

Asked whether she is afraid of the outbreak, Wang said that compared with the earthquake in 2008, the disease is "nothing big, because scientific prevention and protection will help avoid infection".

"I don't worry about it. I love this beautiful city and I want to stay here. I want to contribute to its development," she said.

Yang Lan, a nurse at Wuhan Tongji Hospital, experienced difficulties traveling between her home and the hospital after public transportation was suspended. The hospital provides shuttle buses on different routes for its employees, but Yang said there is no route between her home and work, a distance of 10 kilometers.

"Thanks to the volunteer drivers from Didi Chuxing, I can travel easily," she said. "What has touched me the most is that I need to go to the hospital from home at 7:30 am, and I see from the mobile app that the drivers always come 10 to 20 minutes early. They help me a lot."