Hand sanitizer and toilet paper are flying off store shelves and are nearly impossible to find as fears build over COVID-19, but the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is asking people to keep things in perspective.

There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador to-date.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says it’s important to remember that there are limited cases in this country.

She says there is limited transmission in the community in other parts of Canada, and while she understands that people want to be prepared if they are quarantined or self isolating, there’s no need to buy “mounds of things.”

She advises it is a good idea to have a two-week supply of essential prescription medications.

People are most contagious when they are symptomatic. There is an incubation period, but people are more likely to pass the virus on if they are sneezing or coughing.