by: KXAN Staff
Posted: Jan 26, 2020 / 09:31 AM CST / Updated: Jan 26, 2020 / 09:32 AM CST
Pedestrians wear protective masks as they walk through a shopping district in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Japan’s government said Thursday a man treated for pneumonia after returning from China has tested positive for the new coronavirus identified as a possible cause of an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) — Central Texas is experiencing a shortage of medical masks after reports surfaced that a student at Texas A&M University who recently traveled to Wuhan, China may have contracted the coronavirus.
KBTX reported that stores around Brazos Valley near Texas A&M University say they are completely out of medical masks.
An employee at MediCare Equipment in Bryan, Texas said the store usually carries around 50 medical masks. However, just a day after the student was checked into the hospital multiple people went to the store to buy masks.
They also said the store received numerous calls from people wondering if the masks were still in stock. They said the store has already ordered more.
According to Dr. Eric Wilke, the Brazos County health authority, the student went to the hospital on Wednesday due to mild upper respiratory symptoms, and he was improving in condition before evaluation even began.
The student is being kept in isolation at home until testing is complete.
A second potential case of the coronavirus in Texas was reported Friday after a student at Baylor University, who also recently traveled to Wuhan, China, began displaying symptoms and was asked to self-isolate.
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