Authorities have reported more than 200 cases of the strain of coronavirus, mostly in Wuhan, but experts suspect the actual number may be up to eight times higher. Alarm bells are ringing partly because of the 2002-03 epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which Beijing was slow to admit. Eighteen years after the outbreak, which killed 800 people in 37 countries after first being detected in China, people are rushing to buy masks as billions travel in China ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Over the weekend, authorities confirmed 139 new cases in the city of Wuhan and a third death, bringing the official figure across China to 201.
It marked a significant jump from the 62 reported just days ago.
Officials also confirmed the virus has spread from Wuhan to other big cities, with several patients in Zhejiang and Shenzhen quarantined for treatments.
A team of experts at Imperial College London analysed the spread of the respiratory virus based on similar incidents in Thailand and Japan.
Researchers concluded 1,723 people could have been infected by January 12 in Wuhan, where the first case of a mysterious pneumonia was detected last month.
Little remains known about the virus, including its source, how easily it can spread, or its severity, but some experts say it is less deadly than SARS.
Symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, like many other respiratory diseases.
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“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.”
An anonymous doctor in Shanghai told the South China Morning Post he had heard of a suspected case in the city and staff at his hospital had scrambled to prepare for more cases.
He said: “The hospital is rushing to buy more masks, caps and hand sanitiser.
“To be honest, I feel frightened. It is a virus with a lot of aspects that are still unclear.”
Chinese social media users have expressed anger at a lack of clear guidance from authorities on precautions that could be taken.
One user of Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, said: “I have to search on Weibo by myself for all the new developments – no notice from schools, companies or the compound where I live.”
And another slammed fellow citizens for going about their day without masks, saying: “So ignorant, so fearless, so arrogant.”