Wuhan residents search Baidu for masks, delivery services and fake news amid China coronavirus outbreak

Wuhan residents are fervently searching online for information on face masks, delivery services and rumors related to the new coronavirus, according to a report from Baidu released on Tuesday.

As medical supplies run low and people confine themselves to their homes over a virus that has already left more than a hundred dead and thousands infected, people are turning to the internet for information.

Protective masks saw one of the biggest surges in searches, showing the item was in hot demand on January 22. That’s the day the city made face masks mandatory and the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced an emergency meeting. Since the outbreak began, face mask supplies have been running low.

Information on delivery services was the second most “baidued” query in the city, where an estimated 9 million people are stuck since the lockdown began. 

And rumours about the virus came in third. Unverified information and conspiracy theories have blown up on Chinese social media (and on Twitter) with posts touting various “natural” treatments such as gargling salt water and eating garlic cloves.