A police car is seen in front of one of the roads blocked by authorities to restrict people leaving Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Saturday. Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

Healthcare workers in Wuhan are warning that hospitals are running low on supplies as they struggle to cope with the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Four medical staff -- including doctors -- spoke to CNN of the situation and vented their frustrations amid exhaustion. They have asked to remain anonymous, fearing they could face repercussions for speaking to journalists without permission from their superiors.

Through telephone conversations with CNN and posts on Chinese social media, they described scenes of hospitals low on resources. In private groups online, those identified as hospital staff are working with members of the public to import protective equipment as they treat an increasing number of patients infected with the deadly new coronavirus.

“In terms of resources, the whole of Wuhan is lacking,” one Wuhan-based healthcare worker told CNN by phone. This person said they were looking for more protective clothing, including goggles and masks.

“It’s really like we’re ‘going into battle stripped to the waist,’” another healthcare worker added, using a Chinese idiom that equates to “going into battle without armor.”

Construction workers drive excavators at the site of a new 1,000-bed hospital being built to accommodate the increasing number of coronavirus patients in this photograph taken on January 24, 2020.

A different hospital staff member even claimed healthcare workers have had to resort to wearing diapers to work so as to avoid having to remove their hazmat suits, which they say are in short supply. A doctor on her Weibo microblog account described similar accounts at another Wuhan hospital.

“My family members are definitely worried about me, but I still have to work,” a separate doctor told CNN. But she said that she is hopeful that they will ultimately get the gear they need.

“Our bosses, our hospital suppliers will definitely find a way to get these stocks to us,” she added.

It’s not clear if these accounts are merely anecdotal or whether there are widespread shortages across Wuhan.

Chinese state media has also shared posts from multiple Wuhan hospitals in which they are asking for public donations of medical supplies. They report that one hospital staff member said the current supplies “are only able to sustain three or four days."