Wearing those surgical face masks got popular in China after the SARS outbreak in 2002. So will the same thing happen here because of the coronavirus?
A new survey found over HALF of Americans are now thinking about it. 52% said wearing a mask is something they might consider, and only 21% said it's "very unlikely" they will.
Here are some more coronavirus stories that are making headlines...
1. The stock market fell about 1,200 points last week over worries the virus might cause a global recession. That's the biggest one-day point drop in U.S. history.
2. Pope Francis skipped Mass yesterday because of a, quote, "slight [illness]." So people started speculating he might have it. He was seen coughing and blowing his nose on Ash Wednesday. And about 400 cases have been confirmed in Italy.
3. People have been buying up emergency food supplies at Costco. And according to one report, they're SOLD OUT. We checked their website and couldn't find any doomsday meal kits, or those giant buckets of mac-and-cheese.
4. A woman in Japan who thought she'd beaten the virus three weeks ago just tested positive for it AGAIN. China says the same thing has happened with 14% of its patients. So apparently it can appear to go away, then come back.
5. Some wellness influencers on social media are making things worse by telling people to take a dangerous amount of vitamins to boost their immune system. Some of the doses they're recommending have been described as "near lethal."
6. South Korea now has drive-thrus where people can get tested for the virus without getting out of their car.
7. If the outbreak does get a lot worse, a website called The Organic Prepper posted a pretty thorough rundown of how to prepare in case you need to quarantine yourself.
8. A family in Canada got kicked off a flight after their daughter started coughing, and people thought it might be coronavirus. Apparently she just had a cold.
9. And cops in Arkansas are taking advantage of the paranoia by offering to test people's METH for coronavirus free of charge. They say if you bring your drugs in, they'll make sure they're not contaminated with the virus. It's not clear if anyone's fallen for it yet.