Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. APT shares trading sharply higher after the company said it expects to fulfill the remainder of $14.1 million in currently-booked orders for face masks as the demand rises due to the COVID-19 virus spreading in the second-quarter.

As the coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond China, the demand for masks is on the rise and due to this people are having trouble getting hold of medical masks. China is one the world’s largest producers of masks.

The Timereports there is a daily capacity of 20 million pieces, but by the estimate of its manufacturers, domestic demand alone is around 50-60 million per day.

Another important point being made is that experts also doubt the effectiveness of the masks for stopping transmission of the virus, and according to U.S. health officials the bug spreads mostly between people who are in close contact with each other, and from respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs.

Alpha Pro Tech shares rose 24.5% on Wednesday and were trading up another 55% Thursday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $13.45 and a 52-week low of $3.20.

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A street scene in Guangzhou. Photo by zhizhou deng via Wikimedia.