Scared Of Coronavirus, Chinese People Have Started Putting Masks On Their Pets

According to the live map that tracks the spread of coronavirus (2019-nCoV), there are nearly 10,000 people currently infected with the virus. There have also been over 200 deaths after people contracted the virus which causes such symptoms as fever, cough and shortness of breath and conditions varying from people being mildly sick to people being severely ill and dying.

Since the initial cases had links to a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, the virus is thought to originate in animals, but such information has not been officially confirmed. According to Wikipedia, "Comparisons of genetic sequences between this virus and other virus samples have shown similarities to SARS-CoV (79.5%) and bat coronaviruses (96%)," because of this, it's highly likely that bats were the origin of the current virus devastating China.

Despite the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there is no evidence suggesting house animals can be infected with the new strain of coronavirus, Chinese people have still gone one step further to protect their pets from a potential threat. Sales of pet masks have reportedly skyrocketed since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus and don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Zhou Tianxiao, a 33-year-old online retailer from Beijing, reported that he's selling ten times the amount of dog masks than he usually did before the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. The man initially sold masks designed specifically for dogs to help protect the pooches from air pollution, a business he started back in 2018 on e-commerce site Taobao.

"[The dog masks] might not be as professional as the medical masks made for humans, but they are functional," Zhou told MailOnline. The retailer sells the dog masks at the price of 49 yuan ($7) for a pack of three.

Zhou Tianxiao also said that the main purpose of the masks is "to block out smog, stop dogs from eating or licking food on the floor and prevent them from being exposed to the virus".