Amid nCoV scare, Cavite schoolkids give teacher a laugh with these masks

A high school teacher had a good laugh on Friday when he was greeted by his students wearing white full-face masks amid the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak.

The teacher, Gilbert Bugarin of Cavite National High School, said on Facebook that he told his students to wear a mask to protect themselves.

His students took the nCoV threat seriously and listened to him, but they decided to lighten the mood first in their class.

"Para makaiwas sa NCoV, I advised my students to wear mask. Pero parang may mali. HAHAHA," Bugarin said in a viral Facebook post.

Bugarin told GMA News that his students brought these full-face masks as part of a class activity on the Maskara Festival.

The high school teacher added that it was only a bit of fun inside the classroom and his students started wearing proper face masks as a precaution.

Many netizens found his post hilariously funny, as proven by the number of laugh emoticons. At present, Bugarin's post has garnered more than 17,000 reactions.

"Pinoy humor always comforting. We never fail to find laughter in any dire situation," said one of the comments. "This made my day. A welcome break from too much toxicity in social media."

The Philippines confirmed its first nCoV case on Thursday.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus as a global emergency.

The WHO said that the nCoV has claimed the lives of more than 170 people in China, and more than 7,700 people have been infected globally. —Angelica Y. Yang/MGP, GMA News