A Chinese official warned of a protective mask and suit shortage amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

• A Chinese official warned that the country is facing a massive shortage of protective masks and suits as citizens gear up amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• Local governments have ordered citizens to embrace the protective wear as a preventative measure, but doctors and officials have seen a tight strain on resources since the outbreak earlier this month.
• The death toll of the outbreak hit 80, with 2,744 people infected worldwide on January 27, according to China's National Health Committee.
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The coronavirus outbreak sweeping China is reportedly creating a shortage of protective masks and suits.

Since the outbreak was first identified earlier this month, local governments and public health officials have recommended protective wear as a preventative measure to protect citizens living among the fast-spreading virus.

Wang Jiangping, China's vice minister of industry and information technology, said in a news conference reported by The New York Times that Hubei Province, which was identified as the area with a high concentration of cases, needed 100,000 protective suits a day to outfit citizens, but manufacturers could supply only 30,000 suits each day.

In the weeks after the outbreak, it was discovered that the coronavirus can pass from human to human via saliva or phlegm.

The official's comments come after a doctor told the South China Morning Post that medical workers did not have enough protective gear, causing them to catch the virus while treating patients.

The preventative accessories are just one of the country's resources that are being strained during the spread of the virus. Mimi Lau, a reporter at the South China Morning Post, reported that hospitals have reserved test kits for patients displaying with the most severe symptoms, which has slowed down diagnoses and created such heightened demand that patients in Wuhan hospitals have compared getting a kit to winning the lottery.

The death toll of the outbreak hit 80, with 2,744 people infected worldwide on January 27, according to China's National Health Committee.

As cases of the virus have popped up in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have not issued a call for employing protective gear, instead recommending standard precautions like hand washing and avoiding sick people.

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