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As he entered Hong Kong Supermarket, Sam Lin scanned text messages from his wife instructing him how many red envelopes to buy.

Three dozen, she wrote — and make them large, to fit checks rather than folded wads of cash.

Lin’s nephews, nieces and in-lawswill not have the thrill of pulling crisp bills out of their red Lunar New Year good luck envelopes when the Year of the Ox begins Friday.

Normally, Lin goes to his credit union weeks ahead of the holiday to pre-order new bills — a total of $900 to $1,000 for the kids and elders in his extended family. But with the possibility that the coronavirus could be lurking on $20 or $100 bills, Lin is one of many Asian Americans forgoing traditional cash to ring in the festivities.

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Midori Nguyen, 5, of Westminster wears a lion dance costume while looking over li xi, red envelopes for monetary gifts during holidays, at the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon in an undated photo.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Mary Lu arranges lucky bamboo plants on sale on Feb. 10, 2021, at her shop on Broadway in Chinatown, Los Angeles. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Wearing the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress outfit, Jimmy Huynh, center, greets people while Stephanie Vu, right, helps a customer pick out flower in an undated photo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)