A dog, covered from head to tail, takes a walk in a park with its owner.

Gulf Today Report

The preventive measure of wearing face masks due to the coronavirus is not just limited to human beings. It applies to pets too.

Fearing that their pets could contract the virus, nervy or panic-stricken owners in China have put face masks on them, with slits for the eyes, a report in a major Indian TV channel says.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reportedly said there was no proof to suggest pets could be hit by the virus. That, however, hasn't prevented Chinese nationals from making their dogs and cats wear face masks.

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Chinese authorities reported 5,090 new cases in mainland China on Friday, including more than 120 deaths, taking the total number of infected to 63,851, and the number of deaths from the disease, now called COVID-19, to 1,380.

Pictures of the pets with the face masks have gone viral on social media.

A cat with a face mask seen at a marketplace.

However, according to another report, China's National Health Commission has disagreed with WHO's stance on pets and the coronavirus.

Spokesman and epidemiologist Li Lanjuan said: "If pets go out and have contact with an infected person, they have the chance to get infected.”

Perhaps it all boils down to pathetic fallacy, which means attributing human qualities to animals.

Dogs and cats also have feelings like humans, so it is natural that even they, like their owners, could end up being paranoid about being afflicted with the disease amid apprehensions of its spread.