Yang Xue set up a volunteer driver group in January and named it "guardian angels". By the end of February, her team of 69 drivers had carried medical workers on 850 trips.

"White angels are guardians of their patients and we want to be guardians of them," said Yang, 30.

Learning that many medical workers had difficulty commuting after public transportation was suspended, Yang launched a campaign online calling for volunteers. Joining a bigger volunteer group organized by the Hongshan district several days later, they began transporting supplies.

"One day, I was waiting for the traffic light when a soldier in a car beside me rolled down the window and saluted me," she said. "He did this maybe because he had seen the red volunteer sticker on my car.

"At that moment, I realized that as a Wuhan resident, I had to act bravely and contribute all my strength to help Wuhan recover."