A Chinese official warned that the country is facing a massive shortage of protective masks and suits as citizens gear up amid the coronavirus outbreak.Local governments have ordered citizens to embrace the protective wear as a preventative measure, but doctors and officials have seen a tight strain on resources since the outbreak earlier this month.The death toll of the outbreak hit 80, with 2,744 people infected worldwide on January 27, according toChina's National Health Committee.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.The coronavirus outbreak sweeping China is reportedly creating a shortage of protective masks and suits.Since the outbreak was first identified earlier this month, local governments and public health officials have recommended protective wear as a preventative measure to protect citizens living among the fast-spreading virus.Wang Jiangping, China's vice minister of industry and information technology, said in a news conference reported by The New York Times that Hubei Province, which was identified as the area with a high concentration of cases, needed 100,000 protective suits a day to outfit citizens, but manufacturers could supply only 30,000 suits each day.In the weeks after the outbreak, it was discovered that the coronavirus can pass from human to human via saliva or phlegm.The official's comments come after a doctor told the South China Morning Post that medical workers did not have enough protective gear, causing them to catch the virus while treating patients.The preventative accessories are just one of the country's resources that are being strained during the spread of the virus. Mimi Lau, a reporter at the South China Morning Post, reported that hospitals have reserved test kits for patients displaying with the most severe symptoms, which has slowed down diagnoses and created such heightened demand thatpatients in Wuhan hospitals have compared getting a kit to winning the lottery.The death toll of the outbreak hit 80, with 2,744 people infected worldwide on January 27, according toChina's National Health Committee.As cases of the virus have popped up in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have not issued a call for employing protective gear, instead recommending standard precautions like hand washing and avoiding sick people.Read more:The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 80 people and infected more than 2,700. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.Here's how to protect yourself while travelingThe Wuhan coronavirus patient in Washington state is being isolated in a tiny room and treated by a robot as doctors try to prevent an outbreakResidents left in quarantined Wuhan are desperately stockpiling food and fuel, leaving empty shelves and prices skyrocketingHere are the symptoms of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus and when you should be worriedJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: What's really going on inside an insect-munching venus flytrap
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