BATON ROUGE - Medical face masks are flying off the shelves at the Bocage Pharmacy Center.

"We probably have 10 or 15 people a day calling to see how many masks they can get,"  Pharmacist and General Manager Jarred Binney said. "We sold about 400 last week, and that seems to be the last order we are going to get for some time."

Dr. Louis Minsky, a family practitioner in Baton Rouge, says even though the coronavirus is deadly, folks in the region should not panic.

"With social media, all of the news we get, it's a bad virus, and it's true to form. It's a bad virus where it's located," Dr. Minsky said.

There are no reports of the virus in Louisiana or any neighboring states. The only people being tested for coronavirus, are those who have traveled to China or who have come in contact with someone who may have the virus.

Health officials also say wearing a common medical mask is not the best way to protect you from the virus.

"It's more so for large particles to get in, but the virus will seep right through that mask," Binney said.

Minsky also says using common sense practices is the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus or any other virus. 

"Staying home when you are ill, washing hands well, and washing off countertops and other household objects with disinfectant," Minsky explained.