Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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I've referring to the coronavirus outbreak, of course.

When I first started to hear about this a few months ago, when it was still confined to China, I didn't really think or worry that much about it. I mean, I don't worry about the flu. Of course, I get a flu shot every year, which means I probably won't get the flu.

Then I started to hear it was bad for people who were older or had underlying conditions. I'm not quite "older" by the guideline they're using, but I do have a compromised respiratory system. One of my lungs only inflates half-way (paralyzed diaphragm on that side, apparently since birth), I had pulmonary embolism in both lungs 9 years ago, and I've had asthma for about a year now. So I really don't want to catch any nasty respiratory bugs.

And of course, now it's spreading in the United States. So far there are no diagnosed cases in Illinois other than in the Chicago metro area, and I don't live there. But it's only a matter of time before it's here. The University is switching to online-only courses after spring break, tho they're not sending the students home. Another state university not far away is sending its students home. Yesterday the Governor ordered all schools, both public and private, closed for two weeks and asked all people to stay home this weekend if they don't have to go out. (So far, state agencies have not enacted the Governor's recommendation for workers, to work from home. Do as I say, not as I do?)

Store shelves are empty of hand sanitizer, alcohol, other disinfectants, and toilet paper. I'm wondering what they'll be out of next. A friend in the DC area says the stores there are starting to run out of food.

Like I say, things are feeling pretty freaky!
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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I'm on a Steampunk forum and one of the "Off Topics" topic is the shortages.
We've all been relating our shopping experiences, what we have in the way of a "stash", etc.
I mentioned that I was both lucky and benefited from habit.
Lucky because for my woodworking and metal working hobbies (all steampunk related) I wear [3M,] respirators, P100 filters for wood and metal particulates, and charcoal filters for spray paint, shellac, lacquer etc. And I bought the filters in bulk, so I'm set for that.

For TP, paper towels, cleaner, soap, alcohol, OTC meds, etc I have always shopped sales (no Costco, tho'...not a member), and just stockpile everything, so I'm good for about 2 months for paper/cleaning/health stuff.
I have a chest freezer, I do my own cooking so I have a lot of frozen foods (vegs, pizza, meat, dried fruit, even Ice cream) and staples (canned goods, peanut butter and jam, soup stock, tea, cereal, oatmeal, biscotti, chocolate) on hand. Again, good for at least 2 months if not longer.
Plus, I live in a desert... you never know when the water might not be there, or be low supply, so I ALWAYS have bottled water stashed (gallon jugs) maybe 50 gallons or so.
And three pals to guard my stash...Mssrs Beretta, et Smith et Wesson ;-)

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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Things are pretty crazy around here as well. I work for a university and we are on spring break this coming up week and are doing online the week after (as of now). Stores are pretty barren, I have some things stockpiled. I've learned my lesson from living in hurricane/flood alley.

You'd think the rate people are hoarding toilet paper, you'd think coronavirus is a diarrhea virus, not respiratory. :)
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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I went out grocery shopping yesterday afternoon and that was not a happy-making experience. I went first to my usual supermarket. They were almost stripped of fresh produce, frozen vegetables, and various other things (though plenty of other items were abundant). As it turns out, their daily delivery, which is supposed to happen in the morning, was not expected to arrive until 5 pm. So it was somewhat unusual circumstances. But the reason for the delay was apparently issues at the distribution center in St. Louis, so it could still be virus panic related. In any event, walking in there and seeing so many bare shelves made me feel a little panicky. When you see something like that, that you've never seen before and never expected to see, its unnerving at the best. I mostly managed not to start sweeping what was still on the shelves into my cart. I did end up spending $130, which is much more than my usual shopping trips, and extra surprising to me as I was only going in to buy things for my St. Patrick's Day meals. And I wasn't able to get potatoes or carrots. And they were out of cabbage! I then went to another supermarket and although some things appeared a little sparse (no bagged potatoes), I was able to get the rest of what I needed. That made me feel a little better.

Fortunately I was already pretty well stocked on toilet paper before all the mania started. I wish I had more alcohol on hand, as I'm using that to sanitize things like countertops and keyboards and phones. Needless to say, I hope the panic buying doesn't last very long. This corona thing is scary enough on its own, without the prospect of not being able to buy necessary things. I guess if I were to look at this whole thing for silver linings, I'd say this. This is not the viral apocalypse. But it is the dress rehearsal for it, and I really truly hope that the government and society will look at this, as it winds down, to figure out what worked, what didn't work, and what to do to get ready for the next emergent disease.

I'll leave you with this.

https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/1 ... 7220200315
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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Olorin wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2020 4:04 am .... I wish I had more alcohol on hand, as I'm using that to sanitize things like countertops and keyboards and phones. Needless to say, I hope the panic buying doesn't last very long.....
I don't suppose you have any vodka on hand?....You can use that as a sanitizer and it doesn't leave a residue like whiskey.
Just kidding ...well, half kidding.

Don't waste the alcohol on cleaning your countertop or other surfaces (phones , keyboards etc), unless you can't use water on the surface.
Put a few drops of dishwashing liquid on it and clean it with that and [water] dampened paper towel or cloth. You need it wet but not sopping with water.
It does the same the job as the alcohol.
Wipe off with a [non soaped] wet/damp cloth and let air dry.
Save the alcohol for medical use or places where you absolutely can't use soap and water (especially if you don't have much of it to begin with).

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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i work en a crossery store ,and in thorsday 3 days ago peaple just got crazy ,getting food .
like ,milk ,aggs,butter ,consevIce food "like tuna and makral "almost evrery thing in a can that hold years.
and ofcause meat and alot of meat...


after the news friday peaple seems to come more down,as this is more like a fluu.it can not infect peaple thrug the food you are eating .
like the sars and the chikking infection that whas out 2 youers ago

hand sprit ,and disinfickted towels are sold out .

i dont think vodka is enuf ,maby try absint ore strur rom.

i had try them in my youger days,in i belive i got disinfected.hehehe :cd:

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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maby i got the wrong impesion ,of i work in grossery store .
this actuly caled a goumet food store .
whits means that we make evrey thing home made like bacon ,and ham,and alot more convince food.

cows still prudesed milk ,and chikking still ley eages .

due to the toiletpapier ,sitruasion .its only a westeren eurupe and a us isue .
easten and south ,(aka) they dont use toilet papper to wipe there ass

they yous left hand and pukket of watter to clean ther ass .
and that is why you ,always gets thinshit ,bad stormarch
eating there food .(poutulisme) grems.

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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Hopefully everyone will stay safe during the outbreak.

Here in the U.K. there’s also empty shelves in supermarkets but we’ve been told that there won’t be a shortage but rationing is being introduced to try and stop people panic buying. U.K. shoppers are hoarding toilet rolls too which has led to many humorous conversations about what these people are doing with all those toilet rolls.

Olorin I too am vulnerable as I have asthma. From what I understand it only places us at a slightly higher risk for developing viral pneumonia or possible other complications but the worst to be affected are those with seriously compromised immune systems or people over the age of 70 with multiple underlying conditions.

The U.K. government has asked people to self isolate and I am counted among those and I have to self isolate for three months, only leaving the house for essential things.

I really worry about people who are worse off health wise than me though and I’m annoyed at the selfishness of some people but also their open disregard for health guidelines when we’ve been informed that it’s best for everyone to avoid social situations.

Hopefully this will end soon, though I know governments around the world are bracing themselves for the inevitable second wave.

I hope everyone here stays safe.
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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I've been working from home for the past two days now. It's not something I had envisioned happening, as my agency (and probably other state agencies) are so mistrustful of the concept. But the Governor ordered it, and now it is so. Fortunately we have a really good computer program called Citrix that links your home computer to your work computer back at your office building. The experience is absolutely seamless; it's just like you're in the office...except there's a cat in your lap. (I have my own cat; she did not come with the program download).

Lindir, I am at least a bit heartened by your comments on the risk for people like us. It makes me feel a little better. Also, I think I'm up to date on my pneumonia vaccinations, so there's that, too. But what really makes me feel better is working from home and not having to go out. My stress levels decreased dramatically after Monday, my last day in the office. Now I'm less worried about getting sick and dying, just more worried about society descending into chaos. :crazy2: Supposedly the shortages here are due to people snapping things up as soon as stores stock the shelves. The stores are actually getting restocked; it just doesn't last long. Regarding the toilet paper, other than the worry it is a little funny, as like Blade Collector pointed out, this is a respiratory bug. Although I didi find out just a bit ago from a health professional friend that it can cause diarrhea in some people. In any event, I don't think there's any widespread rationing here, though some places are limiting hand sanitizer. But I think there will be and should be more widespread rationing.

I too am aghast at people who think they somehow don't have to alter their habits in the face of this. I know that younger people often tend to feel invincible, and that corona won't be that rough on them if they catch it. It's the spreading it to other people that's the problem. If everyone could just realize that their personal actions can help make the difference (and the figures I'll ballpark are just for the US) between tens of thousands dying (like seasonal flu) vs millions dying.... It's ironic this is happening as the US is conducting its decennial census as this is going on. Those numbers may not be too accurate by the time all is said and done.

Thinking of you in the UK, Lindir, and the concept of this disease being hard on the elderly, reminds me of an article I read last year about what the impact on the UK will be some day when Queen Elizabeth dies. She has been queen so long that few people remember a time when she wasn't queen. It'll be a huge shock to the national consciousness, and the economic toll it will take on the country due to everything shutting down for mourning will be bad. Hopefully that doesn't happen during the pandemic! Presumably she's being kept very isolated, and Prince Charles too.
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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Yes I completely agree that it’s shocking and I’m annoyed that it’s mostly my generation that are ignoring the advice but obviously that’s not always the case.

I think it’s easier for me to self isolate because I don’t drink (personal choice) and so naturally don’t go to pubs/bars or clubs or generally large social gatherings so for me it’s not a massive shift in my life but it does annoy me how they just shrug it off as not being important because it won’t affect them in a bad way. Of course that isn’t entirely true because if they have underlying conditions they are also at risk of developing complications.

Olorin it’s best to try and remain positive and that goes for everyone here. It’s been well documented that stress and anxiety weaken the immune system and our ability to fight infections so it’s especially important during this time to stay positive as best we can. Easier said than done though, I know.

Hopefully this will be over within 12 months and I hope the economy can recover from it. It’s odd but I hadn’t even considered the knock on the economy when the Queen dies but of course there would be one. Not much has been said about the Queen as far as I’m aware with the exception of the news that she has been reunited with Prince Philip. I imagine they’re being kept safe though.

But if the economy were to collapse obviously there will be more chaos. Our government - as much as I may disagree on some of their policies - I think are doing the best they can and I’m also thankful that some of the in fighting has stopped around issues such as Brexit and immigration.

This whole thing is a massive wake up call as to how unprepared we are worldwide in the face of a naturally occurring crisis such as this.
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

Re: Things are feeling pretty freaky!

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BladeCollector wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 10:12 am i dont know how it is in other states, but due to restaurants and bars not being able to serve inside, takeout and delivery only... lots of places, especially the staple, TexMex here in Texas are delivering margaritas by the quart or gallon... sooo if you like booze, there is a silver lining :)
NY guv said liquor stores will remain open because they provide an essential service
(his words).
Too funny (and true!)

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL
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