Masked man with ‘I have the coronavirus’ sign sprays Walmart produce, Illinois cops say

Illinois police are searching for a man who caused a coronavirus scare at a Walmart that cost the store about $10,000.

Two men who appear to be in their 20s entered the Walmart in Joliet about 4 p.m. Sunday, according to a Joliet Police Department news release on Facebook.

One of them wore a yellow medical mask and sign on his back that said “Caution I have the Coronavirus,” according to the news release. Then he began spraying a substance on produce, clothing and health and beauty products, police said.

The substance later was determined to be Lysol, police said.

The loss of produce cost Walmart an estimated $7,300, and the cleanup was $2,400, police said.

They left the store in a white 2003 GMC Yukon registered in Oswego, Illinois, police said. Police released photos of the two men in the Facebook post.

The incident comes as the coronavirus sparks fear and hoaxes across the country.

On Monday, a flight from Toronto to Jamaica returned to the airport after a passenger announced he visited China and contracted coronavirus, McClatchy News reported. He did not have the virus, McClatchy reported.

Chinese authorities say that 361 people have died from coronavirus in mainland China, according to The Guardian. The number of cases diagnosed worldwide has passed 17,200.

The U.S. has 11 confirmed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Summer Lin and Don Sweeney contributed to this story.

This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Masked man with ‘I have the coronavirus’ sign sprays Walmart produce, Illinois cops say."