Influencers don face masks for 'ridiculous' coronavirus pics

Instagram influencers have been raising eyebrows amid the coronavirus outbreak by sharing images of themselves posing up a storm in fashion-forward outfits while wearing face masks.

Steven Divish, a Russian YouTuber who lives in Hong Kong, China, posted a photo of himself decked out in Nike sportswear and a black face mask on Tuesday.

“Vibe check,” he captioned the snap that sees him standing in a grimy-looking alley in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, about 1,000km south of the deadly virus’s epicentre in Wuhan.

He made sure to include the hashtags, “#china #coronavirus #shenzhen #stevendivish #maskon,” posing questions around the motivation of his post - to raise awareness of the virus that’s claimed over 100 lives to date, or to simply go viral?

While many of the comments on Steven’s post have been positive - with several urging him to take care - one follower called it, “#ridiculous”.

“Stephen, they say masks don't help,” pointed out another.

“Dangerous,” wrote one.

Elsewhere, a Malaysian-Chinese YouTube star, Jeii Pong, shared a thigh and belly-baring photo of herself posing in a black crop top, plaid mini-skirt and blue face mask with her 422k followers.

In her caption, Jeii urges people to ‘take care’ and ‘protect themselves’ by wearing a mask before pointing to her Stories for ‘tips on which mask to be worn’.

Her post - which has received 28k likes and counting - was taken at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and has attracted some criticism from followers.

“When u gonna die but photos shoots are life,” joked one commenter.

“Influencers,” wrote another.

In a similar vein, Vietnamese Instagrammer Jada Hai Phong Nguyen took to her own account to ‘spread awareness in our communities to fight this outbreak’.

In her caption, she encourages others to wash their hands, avoid contact with sick people and wear a mask - she suggests ‘Cambridge Mask N99 pro from UK and KF94 ( made in Korea)’.

The photo she uploaded, however, was slightly at odds with her concerned message, showing her posing on a windowsill with a pot of flowers and a pug between her legs while sporting a black and white crop, matching trousers and a black face mask.

What is coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a virus that causes a type of pneumonia and belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as SARS which killed nearly 800 people globally during the outbreak in 2002.

Coronavirus symptoms include a high fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.

The World Health Organisation began responding to cases of unexplained pneumonia in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31.

Wuhan - now known as the epicentre of the virus - was placed into lockdown last week.

The current death toll stands at 106 and there are now more than 4,500 confirmed cases of infection across mainland China, including 91 in the nation’s capital Beijing, 1100km north.

On January 27, a young woman who was on the last flight out of Wuhan to arrive in Sydney tested positive to coronavirus, taking the number of people being treated in Australia for the potentially deadly illness to five.

On Tuesday, authorities in Japan, Vietnam and Germany confirmed patients had contracted the virus despite not travelling to China.

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