A nameless young man donated 500 face masks to a local police station in Anhui province.

He dropped off the boxes and left the station. The officers searched but couldn't find him. Later, they saluted him for the donation.

The video went viral with people sharing it and leaving comments throughout Chinese social media.

The outbreak of the pneumonia-like illness was first reported in the city of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province in December. 

Experts have attributed the outbreak to a novel coronavirus that has since spread across China and abroad.

So far, 17,341 confirmed cases in China, 153 abroad.