Although there are still no confirmed cases of swine flu in eastern Ontario or western Quebec, residents are taking steps to prepare for a possible pandemic.

There are now four confirmed cases of swine flu in the Toronto area. In Ottawa, health officials are continuing to monitor as many as five people who have symptoms of the disease.

"I've noticed people have started to panic," said Heidi Gabriel, who works as a pharmacist at Centrepointe Gabriel Drugs Pharma Choice.

"People have been asking for masks for simple errands like going shopping at the grocery store."

Gabriel says she's also noticed a spike in the number of people who are asking doctors to prescribe Tamiflu, a flu treatment and prevention drug that has been used to treat the bird flu.

More cases suspected

Meanwhile, Ontario's acting chief medical officer of health said Tuesday he believes the province will see more cases of swine flu in the future.

"Personally, I know we're going to see a lot more cases. It's only a matter of time because of the amount of flow of public that go back and forth to Mexico," Dr. David Williams said.

"It would not be surprising that we have some more confirmed cases."

Although there are four cases of swine flu in the Toronto area, Williams said they are mild and he considers them to be an extension of flu season. He said all four individuals who have the virus recently returned from Mexico.

Premier says no cause for panic

Although swine flu has been confirmed in Ontario, the premier is continuing to advise residents not to panic.

"First of all, stay calm," said Dalton McGuinty. "There's a real concern here, there's no doubt about that, but it's not a cause for undue alarm."

He says the province's public health system is in a strong position to react to any potential pandemic because of the changes made following a commission that studied the way the SARS outbreak was handled in 2003.

"I want to reassure our families that . . . all of our public health officials, and our doctors and nurses, are working hard and well together, executing a plan we have put in place drawing on the painful lessons that we learned six years ago," McGuinty said.

"We have a new plan, we have more resources, we have more personnel, more technology, more know-how and a better understanding of how to deal with these kinds of things."

Protect yourself

In the meantime, health officials say the best way to prevent the virus from spreading is to keep good hygiene.

As preventive measures, people are advised to wash their hands frequently and cough or sneeze into their sleeve.

Ontarians who have general questions about swine flu can call the ServiceOntario INFOline at 1-800-476-9708.

If someone has flu-like symptoms and believe they may have swine flu, they should call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee and files from The Canadian Press