Zhang Wendan and her family were celebrating the Lunar New Year when the 27-year-old nurse got a notice from the hospital: report back to work and join the battle to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Ms. Zhang lives in Huanggang, in Hubei Province, where the virus originated. Two days earlier officials had sealed off her city in a desperate attempt to stop it from spreading. Her mother quietly cried while Ms. Zhang and her fiancé went to her room to pack for her trip.

The experience at the hospital, Ms. Zhang says, has been harrowing, especially as a woman.

Like all of her colleagues, Ms. Zhang grew accustomed to wearing sweat-soaked clothes under her suit. She accepted that there weren’t enough masks to go around for staff. She took care not to tug on the seams of her protective suit, having learned the hard way that it will unravel. But she has also cut off all of her hair and had to have uncomfortable conversations with her superiors about menstruation.

For personal hygiene and convenience, Ms. Zhang had her hair cut short during her 30 days in the quarantine zone of the hospital. Chinese state media has called female medical workers who shave their heads “the most beautiful warriors” fighting the outbreak. At the grocery store, “someone called me ‘handsome!’” Ms. Zhang said. The hospital paid for the haircut.