HALIFAX -- Maritimers are trying to help medical professionals in China as the country tries to stop coronavirus from spreading.
A GoFundMe page titled "Medical supplies for Wuhan" has been created by the Canadian Society for Virology and Dalhousie University, allowing people to donate money for the purchase and delivery of desperately needed medical supplies.
"The top two are isolation suits and 95 Masks," says Dr. Zhenyu Cheng, a professor with Dalhousie University's Microbiology and Immunology Department.
Cheng was born and raised in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated. Cheng says he's been in daily contact with friends and family in the area.
"Luckily, no one that I know got infected, so I'm really glad to know that," says Cheng. "I was concerned about their daily life, but what they told me is there's sufficient supplies of food and water."
The 95 Masks -- a disposable mask covering the nose and mouth -- has also been in short supply around here. Peter Jorna is a Halifax pharmacist and can't keep the product on his store's shelves.
"I was able to order them in at the beginning of the week," says Jorna. "Now they're short from my supplier, so it's more difficult to get them in."
Similar shortages of the masks have been reported from pharmacies in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Ottawa.
