Masks on, Chinese start holiday travels as alarm mounts over mystery virus

BAREFACED SHAME

Little remains known about the virus, including its source, how easily it can spread, or its severity, though some experts say it is less deadly than the earlier Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed nearly 800 people in 37 countries after an outbreak in southern China in 2002-2003.

Symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, like many other respiratory diseases. While it is unclear whether masks provide effective protection, for people with no other information they are the most obvious precaution.

Drug stores in Wuhan reported mask sales have surged.

"Today we've sold out all the single-use masks, and I need to prepare for tomorrow's supply," said a worker at a branch of Beike Drug Store. "Demand has surged ten times compared with before the disease broke out."

Beijing has said the outbreak is controllable and vowed to step up efforts to prevent its spread ahead of the holidays, which begin late this week, when hundreds of millions of Chinese will be travel domestically and abroad.

At Beijing West railway station the number of people wearing masks was pretty well matched by those without anything covering their faces, and there were no visible infrared temperature cameras for detecting elevated body temperatures.

The outbreak, as well as disclosures from local governments about patients under quarantine pending a confirmed diagnosis, were among the top trending topics on social media platforms Monday. Some users expressed anger at a lack of clear guidance from authorities on precautions that could be taken.

"I have to search on Weibo by myself for all the new developments - no notice from schools, companies or the compound where I live," one user of Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, complained.

Another took aim as people going without masks for not taking the outbreak seriously.

"So ignorant, so fearless, so arrogant," another user said.