Chinese Pet Owners Flock to Buy Face Masks for Dogs Amid Coronavirus Scare
Chinese Pet Owners Flock to Buy Face Masks for Dogs Amid Coronavirus Scare
Chinese pet owners flocking to buy face masks for their dogs amid the coronavirus outbreak to prevent their pooches from catching the deadly disease which has killed 170 people.
One Beijing-based online seller says he is now selling 10 times the number of special masks for dogs every day than before.
The news comes after China’s top expert for infectious diseases warned that pets might also be infected by the novel coronavirus, which has so far spread to 21 countries and regions and sickened more than 7,900 people.
The World Health Organization, however, claims that it has not seen any evidence of the virus being passed onto cats or dogs.
Zhou Tianxiao, 33, started trading canine-specific face masks on Chinese e-commerce site Taobao in 2018 to help pets fight air pollution.
But since the coronavirus broke out late last month in Wuhan, Mr Zhou has seen his sales volume soaring from 150 masks per month to at least 50 pieces a day, he told MailOnline.
‘Most [dogs] have started to wear [masks]. Because there is this virus, people pay more attention to their health and their pets’ health,’ according to the vendor, who is offering the merchandise at the price of 49 yuan (£5.4) for a pack of three.
‘[The dog masks] might not be as professional as the medical masks made for humans, but they are functional,’ said Mr Zhou, who has a six-year-old border collie called Sylar.
‘Their main purposes are to block out smog, stop dogs from eating or licking food on the floor and prevent them from being exposed to the virus,’ he added.
Dogs may not be willing to put on the protective devices at the beginning, but ‘compared to risking their lives, prevention is priority’, Mr Zhou noted.
Prof. Li Lanjuan, a member of the senior expert team from China’s National Health Commission, cautioned that pet owners should take extra care of their animals because the virus ‘spreads between mammals’.
Prof. Li, who is also an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, yesterday told state broadcaster CCTV: ‘In this epidemic season, pet owners should strengthen their management of their pets.’
She added: ‘If your dogs run around outside and come to contact with the outbreak or people infected with the virus, then your pets should also be put in quarantine.
‘Because the epidemic spreads between mammals, therefore we should take precaution against other mammals.’
But according to the World Health Organization, no evidence has suggested that cats and dogs could also catch the coronavirus.
In a message posted today on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, the group advised people to wash their hands after holding their pets to reduce the risks of catching bacteria from the animals.
The killer coronavirus rapidly sweeping the world has now infected every region of China, with the remote province of Tibet falling overnight.
Chinese officials have now confirmed 7,796 cases, while more than 100 have been recorded outside of nation – taking the toll to almost 8,000.
Deaths have also risen to 170, with 38 patients dying in one day – the biggest 24-hour jump since the outbreak began last month.
Finland and the UAE yesterday became the latest countries to confirm cases of the SARS-like infection, which has now been spotted in twenty nations and territories.
Australia today announced an eighth case, with a Chinese woman in her 40s being treated in isolation in a hospital in Melbourne.
World health chiefs will meet later today to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a global health emergency, after ruling against it last week.
