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1 of 10Elementary school students wear masks as a precaution against the MERS virus as they wait for a lesson to start at Midong Elementary School in Seoul on June 9, 2015.Chung Sung-Jun—Getty Images -
2 of 10A student has her temperature taken by a teacher outside the Sungshin elementary school in Seoul on June 8, 2015.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images -
3 of 10A woman wearing a mask walks out from a clothing shop at Myeongdong shopping district in central Seoul on June 11, 2015.Kim Hong-Ji—Reuters -
4 of 10A group of students wearing face masks pose for a "selfie" as they sit on a street in the popular student area of Hongdae in Seoul on June 7, 2015.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images -
5 of 10A couple wearing face masks walk on a street in Seoul on June 9, 2015.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images -
6 of 10A couple wearing face masks walk beneath the Wonhyo bridge, before the northern city skyline, at Yeouido park in Seoul on June 7, 2015.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images -
7 of 10A woman wearing a face mask sleeps on a bench in Yeouido park in Seoul on June 7, 2015.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images -
8 of 10A woman wearing a mask stands in front of the stairs at an underground passageway in central Seoul on June 12, 2015.Kim Hong-Ji—Reuters -
9 of 10A couple wearing masks looks at each other as they ride on an escalator in Seoul on June 11, 2015.Kim Hong-Ji—Reuters -
10 of 10A woman wearing a mask takes a nap as she rides a subway train in Seoul on June 12, 2015.Kim Hong-Ji—Reuters
It may be more psychological than logical. Everyone from school children to the nation’s famously fashion-forward teens are covering up in the face of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a coronavirus that aims straight for the lungs and makes breathing a challenge. The culprit? Virus particles that spread between people who are in close contact, presumably from saliva and secretions that are released when people cough or sneeze.
Most cases, including the 154 reported so far in South Korea, are spread from infected patients in hospitals to health care personnel or close caregivers. But that hasn’t stopped Korean residents from buying out the supply of face masks in the capital city of Seoul, where the first patient sough medical care after becoming ill.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care personnel or others who come in contact with MERS patients should wear something called an N-95 respirator, which has a disposable, fitted facepiece filter that can prevent users from breathing in droplets that may contain the virus.
Paper face masks, which fit loosely over the face, can also block large droplets or splatter but can’t completely prevent someone from inhaling viruses, especially if they are in close contact with an infected person for a relatively long time. Public areas in South Korea aren’t particularly high-risk locales, but the idea that some barrier is better than no barrier is likely driving the sales of these masks, some of which come adorned with popular cartoon characters and other logos. It’s also an extension of the Asian habit of donning masks when you’re sick—not so much to protect yourself from getting infected with something, but to prevent you from infecting others.
Read next: This Photo Symbolizes Just How Much MERS Is Taking Over South Korea
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