Chinese nurses shave their heads to reduce the spread of coronavirus
Having no hair also makes it easier to put on and take off protective hazmat suits, as well as limiting the ways pathogens can spread
Fighting the coronavirus at hospitals in Wuhan, some of the nurses are shaving their heads to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
Shaved heads are just one example of the many sacrifices Chinese medical staff are making as they head to the front line of the epidemic, reports the Business Insider.
More than 1,000 people had been killed by the novel coronavirus and nearly 43,000 are infected as of Tuesday morning.
China's largest newspaper, the People's Daily posted a video recently that shows nurses from the Shaanxi province shaving their heads before shipping out to Wuhan to fight the coronavirus.
Having no hair also makes it easier to put on and take off protective hazmat suits, as well as limiting the ways pathogens can spread.
Shan Xia, who works as a nurse at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, shaved all of her hair at the end of January, China Daily reported.
Hospital staff in Wuhan are going to extreme lengths to save time and get to more patients, including wearing adult diapers instead of taking bathroom breaks.
Bleached white skin from disinfectant and faces marked by lines from masks digging into skin are some of physical tolls on the medical staff. With an ever-increasing volume of cases, the emotional toll is apparent as well, as some doctors passed breaking point struggling.
"I think it is a strain for every doctor and every nurse in Wuhan, both physically and mentally," a Beijing-based therapist named Candice Qin told The Washington Post.
"We know that patients are worried, but we should bear in mind that doctors are just as human as well."