We already have some; Mom has searched the Internet for more N95 masks. Most sites have sold out, and the few that still have masks are selling them for triple the original price.

Jeanette Isabelle

Since every other person in Asia is wearing a face mask, that must be the way to stop the spread of the virus??

Not so, apparently. It maskes even more sense to wash your hands and avoid contact with your face and eyes:
https://blogs.webmd.com/webmd-doctors/20200127/can-wearing-mask-protect-you-from-coronavirus

Apparently, masks work best to keep an infected person from spreading the irus via airborne droplets.

The habitual use of facemasks dtes back to the practices of the Japanese, afflicted by the horrendous bombing of WWII.

I purchased an N99 mask on Amazon a couple of months ago. It sits in my car with a mil surp goggle.

Today on Woot, 80 N95 respirators for $50:

https://tools.woot.com/offers/3m-particulate-respirator-box-of-80z-2?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_tool_1_184

The corona virus now has an official name - COVID-19.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-deaths-who-1.5459237

Sold out.

Jeanette Isabelle

"Health authorities in China’s Hubei province – the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic – reported on Thursday 14,840 new confirmed cases, almost 10 times the number reported a day earlier, and new deaths attributable to the contagion rose to 242, more than double on the day."

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/...e-new-confirmed

It's my understanding that the jump in cases is more attributable to a change in diagnostic procedure than a rapid increase in infections.

Is THIS Why Most Coronavirus Deaths Have Been In Chinese Men?  

Good article, but the title is misleading because it’s not really about the Chinese or men, it’s more about ACE2 (aka Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2). It happens though that ACE2 levels are higher in people who smoke and in general, Chinese men are heavy smokers, it’s a social thing. (a few years back a Chinese neighbor’s father was visiting from China and he offered me a cigarette every time we met. He just didn’t seem to understand that none of his daughters neighbors smoked.)

Not saying it’s definite, but it’s possible that high ACE2 levels form a pathway (vector?) for the virus. Don’t know, I’m not a doctor nor a microbiologist.

I’ve never been a medical professional or scientist, but I’m pretty sure that smoking increases your risk for respiratory infections in general, and I know from long-ago previous experience that respiratory infections tend to be much worse for smokers. I quit many years ago.