【明報專訊】THE novel coronavirus epidemic is growing in intensity around the globe. Scenes of people scrambling for masks and daily necessities that happened early last month in Hong Kong have appeared in Europe and the US one after another. Recently, South Korea, Germany and the Czech Republic have announced a ban on the export of masks in quick succession. The French government has even requisitioned all masks in stock and newly-produced masks across the nation to ensure that medical workers and patients can use them.