[anon463637]

I've seen panic buying of face masks in Palo Alto and San Jose, mostly by people who appear of Chinese ancestry. I was doubtful on its efficacy, but it appears there is some benefit combined with hand-washing. It's probably a good idea to have hand sanitizer and face masks on-hand rather than waiting until they're sold out.

[fspeech]

But it certainly has altruistic value: if you are a carrier, wearing a mask should greatly reduce the chance of infecting others.