I honestly do not understand the mindset of people thinking this is all just scaremongering. Countries and entire continents do not take decisions like they do now out of a whim. They do not tank the economy for fun. This is serious, it's a virus that kills, with no vaccine like the flu, where people unlike with SARS can infect others while symptomless, spreading it around wildly. The flu still kills because the vaccine isn't a 100% effective and not everyone gets the jab. But because a lot of people do it doesn't kill millions. So please stay at home, wash your hands and be safe - this will also keep others safe.
No, obviously it's is not just all scaremongering. But when people react illogically and do things that do not make sense, then of course they are scared. Scared of what ? This virus is a respiratory disease so what drove thousands of people to buy huge amounts of toilet paper?
How many bags of rice do you really need to get you through a few weeks, considering that you already have umpteen packets of pasta in the cupboard?
If everybody had remained sensible and continued to shop as normal, then we all would be fine. I understand that this virus is dangerous for many people but this is a time for common sense not crazy irrational behavior.
Sensationalism in some parts of the media (and you only have to look at the headlines of some UK dailies in the last day or so) , the amount of time TV devoted to the topic giving 'latest information' about the virus and which is mostly just a rehash of old stuff without any new items and then there are the parasites who are doing things like selling fake testing kits.
There is much false information around and people are not stopping to question what is sensible and what isn't. The fear about this virus is far more infectious and dangerous than the virus itself. When people start brawling over a few rolls of toilet paper, we need to question if this extreme fear is justified or reasonable.