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Virus fears have caused Boots stores in Edinburgh to "completely run out" of face masks.

Five people have been tested for the illness known as Wuhan Novel Coronavirus in Scotland – three of them in Edinburgh.

Two have since been given the all-clear although three are still waiting on their test results.

As of Friday afternoon, 14 people tested across the UK were found to be free of the virus.

The Herald as reported pharmacists in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for face masks, despite doubts over their effectiveness.

A Boots store on Partrick Street reportedly put up a sign that read: "Unfortunately we do not have any surgical or face masks in store".

An unnamed Boots worker told the Herald: "We are completely out of stock for the masks and the hand gels.

"There are certainly a lot more customers coming in at the moment, and hundreds are asking for masks on a daily basis.

"People keep coming in, mainly Chinese students, asking for face masks but we have completely run out, across the whole city.

"I don't know who the other pharmacies use for suppliers, but our suppliers are completely out.

"We have also run out of all hand gels and sanitisers at our store."

She reportedly guest that around 200 masks have been sold per day in the wake of the suspected outbreak.

It comes after an expert at the University of Edinburgh said there are likely to be more suspected cases of coronavirus in cities around the UK.

Professor Jurgen Haas said cities with large numbers of Chinese students were likely to be affected, as travel between the two countries is fairly frequent.

Described as a pneumonia-like infection, symptoms of the virus initially appear like the common cold.

There have been 26 people fatalities so far in China and the city of Wuhan has been placed on lockdown.

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