Coronavirus 🤧

[Kevin]

All I wanted was some bananas tonight, I eat one almost daily, but, nooooooooo...... the hoarders got there first! Literally not a single banana left at the local stores. And now that the state of my county in PA is being shut down more-or-less for two weeks it created a frenzy today that made the local stores descend into chaos. The local Costco actually closed early because of the rush; they've already been out of bath tissue (aka: toilet paper) for a few days and supplies were low on paper products & canned goods and this afternoon after the Governor's announcement they got hit hard. The other grocery stores in the area have row after row of empty shelves.... paper products, soap, water, canned goods, boxed mac & cheese, just about anything that was edible and had a long shelf life, all wiped out.

And now they've moved on the bananas. Aaarrggh.




{Kevin gets grumpy when he doesn't have his daily WaWa coffee and banana; between this and the stock market crash decimating his 401K he is not happy.}

 

[Jim McClain]

It's about 1am here now and I'm ready to go to my local grocery store. I put it off until this late at night because there will be far fewer people there. I am worried that the shelves will not have some of my favorite things, but I already have enough TP, soap and a couple other things that I've heard people are hoarding.

Where I live there are a lot of very conservative people and many I know have told me there's nothing to worry about - as I stand before them a 70 year old man with lung and heart disease. This could be a good thing for me when I go shopping. None of them will have the same fear I do about being in crowds, shaking hands or hugging people or being concerned about stocking up on food and supplies. I'm hoping it means all my favorites will still be on the shelves.

Still, COVID-19 has me much more fearful about my already fragile life. Instead of planning my next landscape photography outing or thinking about what new dirt trail I can explore in my Jeep, I am consumed with thoughts of sick old folks, veterans testing positive at the same VA Clinic I go to all too frequently and whether the person I am talking to is at least 6 feet away from me but talking loud enough for me to hear what they have to say.

 

[davect01]

As a parent with a child of 7, we have been watching with bated breath to see if they will close her school after this week's Spring Break is over. (US residents)

Both of us work, my wife during the day and me during the evening. If the school closes it is going to be a huge pain in the ass but we should be able to figure it out for a week or so. But there are thousands of parents that will have to make the choice of going into work, (assuming work is still open), or staying home with the kids. I personally still have two weeks vacation that I can use up, but if I have to use it because of the School being closed, but many simply do not have that option.

The potential for a lot of lost wages and lost jobs is very, very real. My nephew is a 24-year-old College Student and works at one of the food vendors for one of the major arenas here in Phoenix. His wife is 7 months pregnant and can not work from home. He is the sole wage earner but suddenly through no fault of his own finds himself without work for who knows how long. Airline employees, hotel workers, resort workers, etc, etc are suddenly facing a period of unemployment with an unknown return to work.

Now I know this Virus is serious, but the long term ramifications to families and business could be just as devastating.

 

[rayvonn]

Living in Australia, my advice to the rest of the world is get toilet paper. Get it now. Not tomorrow. Someone got stabbed fighting over it yesterday.

 

[Richard]

I saw a newspaper cartoon the other day, in which a guy with a mountain of toilet paper piled up in his supermarket trolley says to another shopper, "I'm stocking up on toilet rolls because people are panic buying".

There was none to be had in our local big stores so we recently ordered some online and it turned up without any trouble. We didn't panic buy, you understand, we just took a sensible precaution and bought what looks like a lifetime's supply.

The shops around here are currently low on painkillers (like none, so watch out for that if you rely on aspirin or paracetamol), long-life milk, and dry food like pasta and flour.

-R

 

[kyteflyer]

You still need to have food. I got a bunch of fresh veg yestrday. I have hardly any meat so I better do something about that tomorrow. Other than that, my outings from here on will be only in my back yard, and possibly out front, to bring the bins in (or put them out next week). I had morning tea with some friends yesterday, who had just been on vacation to Mexico. They returned through LAX. One has what she calls a cold. I hope thats all it is. She said she had it before she left, but I saw her 48 hours before and no sign of a cold. I’m worried, because today I have a bit of chest congestion. If its worse tomorrow...

In the meantime I read this article on Medium. Its worth a read.

Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now

Politicians and Business Leaders: What Should You Do and When?

medium.com

 

[rayvonn]

I saw a newspaper cartoon the other day, in which a guy with a mountain of toilet paper piled up in his supermarket trolley says to another shopper, "I'm stocking up on toilet rolls because people are panic buying".

There was none to be had in our local big stores so we recently ordered some online and it turned up without any trouble. We didn't panic buy, you understand, we just took a sensible precaution and bought what looks like a lifetime's supply.

The shops around here are currently low on painkillers (like none, so watch out for that if you rely on aspirin or paracetamol), long-life milk, and dry food like pasta and flour.

-R

Just ordered 24 rolls from eBay myself, expected delivery 19-25 March. Won't run out till then. Could have gone 48 or 72 rolls but that just seems silly (maybe I'm wrong). Last weekend you couldn't even buy rice. Ridiculous.

 

[Richard]

Could have gone 48 or 72 rolls but that just seems silly ...

[guilty glance at the cupboard door in the hall, which for some strange reason can't be closed shut for the time being]

 

[drd1135]

Not the bananas! Oh, the Bananity!!!

 

[drd1135]

Living in Australia, my advice to the rest of the world is get toilet paper. Get it now. Not tomorrow. Someone got stabbed fighting over it yesterday.

I'm good. Fortunately, I forgot to shred all those final exams from last year.

 

[drd1135]

The only things I really noticed as almost gone at our local Walmart were toilet paper, paper towels, and hand sanitizer/disinfectant wipes. Plenty of food, milk, etc. I want to second Jim's point , however. This kind of extreme effort will save the lives of some. The panic is that that there is no vaccine, like the annual flu, so people feel more vulnerable. I do have great sympathy for those whose livelihood is threatened, however. It's sad that we are still at the point where we can't be more proactive about supporting people during this effort.

 

[Brian]

Oh. Coronavirus.

I thought the Zombie Apocalypse had hit the way people were stocking up. I'm used to keeping at least 90 rolls of toilet paper in the house if I want to be able to get any. Now I can tell the family that they may be the last ones they ever see, so better not use much. I'm thinking Ebay, $50 per roll.

On the bright side, there was a big sale on the Cappuccino for the Keurig, Klondike Bars, and Peanut Butter. I'm set.

 

[Luke]

I am SHOCKED at the amount of toilet paper use. One woman at the store the other day had what would have been for me a two year supply (or more) in her cart.

I understand that the virus has a lot of very serious ramifications, but FREAKING OUT about it helps absolutely nothing.

Of course, the world-is-coming-to-an-end news coverage is just like adding gasoline to a bonfire.

Wash your hands. If you have a cough or sneeze, block it with your sleeve, not your hand. If you don't feel well, stay at home and/or see a doctor. Avoid crowds and quit hoarding.

 

[bluzcity]

I work in a children's cancer hospital. We are on lock-down, no visitors, only essential staff - COVID 19 incident command room, daily briefing, cancellation of all employee travel - employees have to pretty much self-isolate when off duty - every person who enters the building goes through a brief health assessment. I've been here for 34 years and I've never seen the amount of scrutiny yet there is no panic. Each day is very organized, competent, and professional. I too am in the high-risk group, over 65 and I have lung problems. It's all a bit scary but I feel confident we are doing everything possible to keep the virus off campus and away from our immunocompromised children. Tough times, but we're fighting the good fight. And I think we have plenty of toilet paper

 

[Brian]

As a toddler- Nikki suffered from Ulcerative Colitis and was in the hospital for months, finally went to surgery.
So- got used to stocking TP. On a bright side, as her Dad- I can tell people my Daughter's poop doesn't stink and be on medically sound ground.

We are being precautious, avoiding large crowds. Went out for early dinner at 3pm yesterday at a favorite local restaurant- we were the only ones in it. I bump up to 50% tips in situations like this. I feel very bad for people in businesses that rely on steady customers. My work is preparing for people to switch to tele-commuting. As long as I have a computer that boots into DOS, I'm set. Having a pair of O-Scopes at home also helps.

 

[drd1135]

One other point: The fear for many in government and health care is that if the infection hits all at once it could overwhelm the health care system. This actually happened in China, and they had to build hospitals on the fly. One reason that this virus is not as fatal as it could be is that modern hospital care can keep someone alive until they get better.

 

[kyteflyer]

Last weekend you couldn't even buy rice. Ridiculous.

No bulk rice in the supermarket last night, also no TP. Plenty of meat and veg. Plenty of cracker biscuits and the like. Tissues are in short supply, I’ve ordered hankies from Amazon and they will come this week. My TP should last me a while and if I doesnt, I’ll go in the early am again, for more. Of course by then, Coles may be closed down because everyone will be sick. I guess home deliveries are the go for most things from here on.

As I was leaving with my shopping (no stockpiling, just stuff i forgot the other day), there was one fellow ahead of me with a trolley full of canned soup. This reminded me that I should probably start making and freezing.

 

[MoonMind]

Well, I've just been grounded - all schools in Switzerland are closed at least until April 4th. We're starting tele-schooling (no idea what to call it in English, really - e-learning is a method, not a description for what we're trying to set up) on Tuesday; Monday the staff meets one last time for training purposes, then we'll leave the building for a good two weeks; the students won't turn before April 6th. It's a very peculiar feeling - not exactly heartbreaking, but close. But it's still sensible to reduce social interaction to a necessary minimum. However, sending children and adolescents home isn't going to help keeping them there - especially if the parents have to go out to work. What are we going to do - lock them up? And that's not even taking into account the numerous other problems parents now face ...

The hoarding - is getting silly and somewhat scary (looking into some people's faces was, at least); not because some measure of stocking up on necessities wouldn't help the efforts to limit contagion and infection, but because it's getting out of hand and is completely unbalanced - toilet paper is a striking example. It's not as if we're going to run out of key supplies any time soon - except because of the hoarding, as was the case for masks and desinfectants of all sorts, causing issues for hospitals and doctors! Food supply is still fine on most fronts. We're probably going to see rationing within the next couple of weeks - not because it's truely needed, but because it'll prove necessary to prevent a further breakdown of basic civilisation, the very thing we try to save.

I'm not going to join the frenzy for now - though I'm quite intrigued to find out how long I can keep that up. I *have* bought a bit(!) more of everything, but that's because getting out of the house to go shopping isn't exactly a helpful idea. However, if people didn't overreact and panic, we could all be a lot less worried. Especially we in our (mostly) very privileged situation (that's a First World "we" ...).

M.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Schools in Los Angeles are closed effective Monday. Also I actually find it interesting to see what people stock up on! Things I normally eat aren't in big demand! If you're vegetarian or vegan in California, vegetables are well stocked and I don't see those going anytime soon. Things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies I can live without. I don't even need water bottles since I usually just fill my big water containers instead.

 

[davect01]

I saw a newspaper cartoon the other day, in which a guy with a mountain of toilet paper piled up in his supermarket trolley says to another shopper, "I'm stocking up on toilet rolls because people are panic buying".

There was none to be had in our local big stores so we recently ordered some online and it turned up without any trouble. We didn't panic buy, you understand, we just took a sensible precaution and bought what looks like a lifetime's supply.

The shops around here are currently low on painkillers (like none, so watch out for that if you rely on aspirin or paracetamol), long-life milk, and dry food like pasta and flour.

-R

The insanity feeds into itself