The outbreak in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province has caught many hospitals off guard, including frontline medical workers. As most of them are female, the situation has led to a suddenly and great demand for female hygiene products such as sanitary pads and tampons.

Huo Xiaobing, a volunteer driver for the action group named "Stand by Her," was responsible for delivering 30 cartons of "safety pants" to Xinle Central Hospital and Xinle Second Hospital in Xinle City, one of the three high-risk areas in the province.

"The hospitals in the city are fine for now. However, those in the suburbs lack resources," Huo said.

"Stand by Her", a nonprofit organization founded less than a year ago, is known for handing out free sanitary pads in schools. It has also gained media attention for its campaign to raise period poverty awareness.

So far, the group has reached out to 22 hospitals and community health centers in Shijiazhuang and nearby areas, spending around 200,000 yuan (about $3,100) on such products.

While other areas have begun to open up, some regions remain under tight traffic control, especially strict measures on traffic into the city.

Also a member of the charity group, Liu Yue has been behind the scenes making communications. She has been monitoring the situation since the city ordered residents to stay home.

"When the pandemic hit Shijiazhuang, I paid close attention to it," she said. "Some medical workers posted their needs online and asked for help. They even said it's okay for them to starve, but this is a physiological need."

The products had sold out in the early days, so the group reached out to brands, including Vinda and Hengan. Some of them gave out their products for free, and some provided the group with discounts.

Huo is the contact person for all the hospital deliveries. When asked if he had any concerns heading into high-risk areas, Huo focuses more on "contributing what we can."

"Of course, I do. I'm a human. I'm selfish too. I'm afraid of death," he said. "But the medical workers are also working on the frontlines. They haven't thought about this, and we don't think about this either. We contribute what we can."

As the situation eases in Shijiazhuang, "Stand by Her" has wrapped up their work in that area, but their vision of female frontline workers getting sanitary products supplies on time remains.

"The female medical workers are working so hard on the frontlines. We hope the female sanitary products can be put on the list of basic supplies instead of getting support purely from public fundraising," Liu said. "With the majority of medical workers being female, this is one of their fundamental needs."