The coronavirus has hit four Tennessee counties, but there are no known cases of the virus reaching Warren County yet.

At both Sullivan’s Hometown Pharmacy and McMinnville Drug Center, medical masks and hand sanitizer have sold out with no known estimation of when the shelves will be restocked due to supply warehouses being out. 

“We are mainly selling out of masks and hand sanitizer right now,” says pharmacy doctor at Sullivan’s, Delanie Sullivan. “We can’t get any masks from our wholesaler because they are completely out.”

“The medical masks are out. They’ve been back-ordered,” says pharmacy technician at McMinnville Drug Center, Pam Stern. “The hand sanitizer is gone and we can’t get any along with gloves.” 

McMinnville Drug Center has even begun making its own hand sanitizer.

Family nurse practitioner at Family Care Clinic, Theresa Hill, states there have been no patients with coronavirus, yet the flu is still plaguing individuals at a high degree.

“We’re doing a lot of testing for the flu right now,” says Hill. “We have no urgent concern of the coronavirus, but we’re continuing to monitor what’s going on in our area. We can call the state health department if we think someone is infected in our community.”

Hill advises people to take the same general precautions as they would for the flu. The best way for protection is to wash hands thoroughly and consistently for 20 seconds with soap and water. 

“We’re not as worried about the coronavirus because there aren’t any cases here,” says Hill. “We’re more worried about the flu, but we are keeping our eyes on things each day, checking with the CDC and watching the news.”

The masks being purchased aren’t as effective as the stronger masks and are more so used to prevent spreading droplets from coughing or sneezing. The masks also help avoid touching the nose, face and mouth where viruses are more easily transmitted. 

“I think there is a concern coronavirus will spread,” said Hill. “There’s not a vaccine for it and people don’t have immunity for the virus. We’re most concerned with the elderly, children who have low immunity or those with weakened immune systems.”

The flu shot is still available at Family Care Clinic, and medical professionals are advising individuals to take advantage of the shot. 

Sullivan believes the focus on coronavirus is being blown a bit out of proportion, and people in the area are beginning to panic. Although it is serious, she says the flu is wreaking much more havoc in the U.S. than coronavirus.

The CDC reports by the end of February, the number of individuals affected by the flu in the U.S. reached 34 million cases with 20,000 deaths during this year’s flu season.

According to the Associated Press, the coronavirus has infected more than 800 people in the U.S. and killed at least 29. New Jersey reported its first coronavirus death Tuesday.

“The most frequent questions I’ve been asked are how to stay safe, is it that dangerous and should I wear masks or gloves,” says Sullivan. “There’s been a bit more paranoia than I’d like to see. It’s not a terrible amount yet, but I do believe people are starting to panic a little bit.”

Local medical experts advise if you are sick, stay home. If you are coughing or sneezing, do it into a tissue or at least your elbow. Make less contact with your hands, and try to avoid touching your face, especially the eyes, nose and mouth. Most importantly, don’t panic.

“Try to stay healthy, get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and eat healthy foods. If you’re sick, stay home to not spread anything,” says Sullivan. “Also, get your flu shot if you don’t have one yet. It’s not too late. If we are not overloading the healthcare system by treating people who have the flu or other illnesses, they can devote more of their research and resources to those suffering from the coronavirus.”

Medical assistant at Family Care Clinic, Shirley Rice, claims this year has seen a massive increase of the flu in previous years. 

“We’ve had maybe one or two people come in worried about having the coronavirus, but it’s not become a big deal yet,” says Rice. “Most people come in wondering if they have the flu. If a person ever receives a positive test result in McMinnville, I think that’s when everyone will come in and think they have the symptoms of the coronavirus. Right now, more people are asking for masks out of paranoia.”