28 ms·

Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?

• Someone1234 7y ago
  I'm not. There's no meaningful preparations for avoiding what is essentially a really dangerous variant of the common cold at an individual level. Now governments and the medical field should be preparing for it. But most of that is logistical problems (e.g. number of hospital beds, preparing quarantine plans, test kits, etc). You can order a bunch of masks if it makes you feel better, but countries with common mask usage are still seeing a large scale spread so YMMV.
  • megous 7y ago
    Question is about disruptions caused by people's reaction to the outbreak, not the virus itself. Stuff like this: https://www.ibtimes.sg/wuhan-virus-italy-supermarkets-are-running-out-food-panicked-italian-shoppers-empty-shelves-40064 https://www.ibtimes.sg/wuhan-virus-italy-supermarkets-are-ru... The freaking panic is already starting in my country too. People buying up food in 10x the quantities than the usual shopping visit, etc.. I've gone shopping yesterday, when the virus was found in the country next to mine, to buy enough food for a week, just to avoid the inevitable initial panic that's starting today, when the first case appeared in my country.
    • akerro 7y ago
      All animals panic even in minor danger.
    • helij 7y ago
      It's not panic. It's reality. Many of us did the same. I went with 2 weeks worth of food, water and toiletries and we already have the usual stock which including refrigirated stuff should be enough for full month if needed. When you see small towns put into quarantine in Europe allowing people in and out only with 'written permission' you know you should prepare family and yourself asap. Get food, water, medicine and everything that might make life easier for you and your family during weeks of quarantine.
      • megous 7y ago
        Well, I saw a lady who bought out a full cart of flour packages yesterday. There was last 1kg package of salt, and around 6 packages of flour left on the shelf. (normally there's ~200) Yes, it's not a generalized panic, but individual people like that can really screw up the shopping experience for others. Is it panicking? Dunno, maybe she's just setting up a flour shop, or has 50 hungry necks to feed. But it was certainly unusual.
        • helij 7y ago
          We regularly buy 10kg of flour because we have a bread maker. The last time I bought bread (not counting when on holiday) is 3.5 years ago. 10kg is enough for over a week. Full cart is a bit much though if it's like 50kg+
    • Diederich 7y ago
      My wife was in a pretty typical Walgreens today and noted that there was a sign in front saying that they didn't have any masks left and that they didn't know when they were going to get more. Inside, there were a number of sections besides masks that were completely empty. This Walgreens is in Mountain View, a few miles from the main Google campus in California.
    • gonational 7y ago
      What country are you in, if you don’t mind me asking?
      • megous 7y ago
        CZ
    • ClearAndPresent 7y ago
      >The freaking panic is already starting in my country too. People buying up food in 10x the quantities than the usual shopping visit, etc.. >I've gone shopping yesterday, when the virus was found in the country next to mine What's the old saying? "You're not sitting in traffic, you are the traffic." :)
  • petschge 7y ago
    There is at least one preparation that you can take: Make sure you have enough (non quickly perishable) food and essentials such as tooth paste and toilet paper at home so you don't have to go out shopping if you are at home sick for a week.
    • Tepix 7y ago
      It's not just if you get sick yourself. If your company closes down its offices and you have to stay at home you may want to minimize your shopping during that time as well.
  • bad_user 7y ago
    Masks don't help because of low quality and people lack proper training... you shouldn't touch the mask, you shouldn't reuse it, you should properly dispose it, etc. A saner advice is to wash your hands frequently and to avoid touching your face when in public. Because you can get this virus by touching infected surfaces and then touching your face. It doesn't seem to be an airborn virus, but it does survive on surfaces. I cary a hand sanitizer for those moments in public when I feel the need to scratch my face :-)
    • joering2 7y ago
      Masks do help and you explained why. Its harder to touch your face, nose, lips when wearing a mask. So it does help fight the spread and getting yourself sick easier.
      • aerojoe23 7y ago
        Could you try that again? More smaller sentences please.
    • jakkals 7y ago
      > It doesn't seem to be an airborn virus, but it does survive on surfaces. I just read this last night, and from this I had the impression that it is an airborne virus, and that surface spreading is not the main vector: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission...
      • xboxnolifes 7y ago
        The "airborne" transmission in that link is what I believe is called "aerosol transmission", not airborne. Because it relies on liquid droplets in the air, and not actually able to transmit on something like dist in the air.
        • jakkals 7y ago
          There is also transmission (actually the first one mentioned) "Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet)"--this does not mention liquid droplets at all, which is why I figured it to be airborne.
  • mindcrime 7y ago
    There's no meaningful preparations for avoiding what is essentially a really dangerous variant of the common cold at an individual level. Right, but you can prepare for potential societal disruption(s) caused by the disease. Even if you don't get sick yourself, you could be impacted.
  • 8iterations 7y ago
    There is only a ~2% mortality rate from COVID-19, less than the usual flu. If one is prepping to survive from this, it is much more likely you have deeper emotional & psychological issues that prevent you from holding long lasting intimate relationships. And are at a higher risk of death from depression, anxiety, loneliness,and general social isolation. Thank you for listening. P.S. I work in this field and attached is an analysis of the ebola virus breakout from a few years ago, if you feel so inclined to work on something similar using your CS skills for COVID. See you in New Zealand with all the other bitcoin moguls :-) https://petridishtalk.com/2014/10/02/retooling-analysis-pipelines-from-human-to-ebov-ngs-data-for-rapid-alignment-and-strain-identification/ https://petridishtalk.com/2014/10/02/retooling-analysis-pipe...
    • tebuevd 7y ago
      This is so infuriatingly false. The mortality rate for the flu this season has been ~0.1%. The coronavirus is over 10x deadlier than the usual flu according to early estimates. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/03/the-flu-has-already-killed-10000-across-us-as-world-frets-over-coronavirus.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/03/the-flu-has-already-killed-1...
      • m3kw9 7y ago
        10x deadlier for 50+ yr olds for younger folks is probably 5-7x lower
        • ericb 7y ago
          Lower overall, but I believe it isn't lower than the flu for any age range, except maybe 0-10 or 0-20. I'll try and find the relevant study link.
        • kps 7y ago
          “… and nobody in my Bay area startup is over 50, because we hire for culture fit.”
    • rp00 7y ago
      I disagree with your sentiment about preppier mentality strongly. For me, it’s not about prepping to survive like THIS is a world-ending event, it’s about not getting caught in a rush to get supplies or stampedes when people panic. Tbh, that’s more of a concern than the disease. That said, the serious complication rate is higher than the flu. The r0 is much higher than the flu. The disease is spread asymptomatically. Nobody is ready if the disease does take hold and spreads widely. Markets are/will continue to take a massive shit.
  • fctorial 7y ago
    The spread seems to be plateu as well. Total numbers will probably be less than 100,000.
    • TheAdamAndChe 7y ago
      It plateaued in China following an incredibly massive quarantine effort. The infection is hitting countries with not nearly the social control measures that China has.
      • jerf 7y ago
        You might be surprised. There are some old laws and powers that are going to be dusted off, and in some other cases it may be the case that governments just claim powers on an emergency basis and essentially nobody other than the absolute political fringes of society is going to complain.
        • wonderwonder 7y ago
          "essentially nobody other than the absolute political fringes of society is going to complain" I very much dont think that is the way this plays out in the western world. In China, they welded the doors shut on entire residential buildings leaving the people in there to either die or survive on their own. They bagged and gagged people with elevated temperature and force quarantined them. They had crematoriums working over time. China has complete military control of their population, this is going to go very differently in the West. China's process was very effective and probably greatly reduced the rate of infection but there is no way people in other countries are just going to sit silently while the same actions are carried out.
          • cjamesd 7y ago
            Source for these claims?
        • nostrademons 7y ago
          Much of the world isn't actually under control of a government. Here in the developed world, we've basically bought into the nation-state system, with a strong central government controlling a defined territory with border checkpoints. But many parts of central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and rural areas in other continents aren't like this. The dominant social organization is by tribe, clan, cartel, gang, or warlord; borders are porous or nonexistent; and the government has no authority, not even a monopoly on physical force. The virus doesn't care whether you believe in governments, and it's just now hitting these regions - Pakistan, Africa, North Korea, etc.
  • Buttons840 7y ago
    Do not overstock on masks or other supplies. Masks especially should be available to the sick. It's ironic that (I'm sure) someone out there will stock up on 10,000 masks and it will cause them to be in even greater danger because the sick people around them will have fewer masks. The CDC recommends that sick people wear masks to keep droplets in, and that people who directly interact with sick people wear masks while interacting with the sick person (to stop projectile droplets I presume). The CDC does not recommend masks be worn generally. Masks help remind you not to touch your face, but you can just put tape on your fingers or something for the same effect (this is just my personal idea). (This is more of a PSA than a direct reply to your comment.)
    • cbHXBY1D 7y ago
      2-3 weeks ago people on here were advocating stocking up on masks and selling at a high profit.
      • someguydave 7y ago
        what is profitable for the individual may not be profitable for the group.
      • riquito 7y ago
        In Italy it's illegal, you cannot hoard or speculate on basic necessities (as the masks are being considered during the epidemic). https://www.repubblica.it/economia/2020/02/26/news/coronavirus_la_guardia_di_finanza_da_amazon_ed_ebay_per_le_speculazioni_su_mascherine_e_gel_detergenti-249647637 https://www.repubblica.it/economia/2020/02/26/news/coronavir...
        • gwright 7y ago
          Perfect way to guarantee shortages. Let the price float and there is an incentive for businesses to figure out how to increase the supply quickly, thus causing the price to drop. The economic theory on this is rock-solid and yet it seems impossible to educate the general public or government officials regarding the consequences of price controls.
  • ravenstine 7y ago
    You can limit your exposure. Lots of people only wash their hands when they use the bathroom, if even that. They touch their faces and mouths a lot more often than they think. If they can learn to change their habits, wash their hands regularly if they go in public, and work from home more often if allowed by their employer, I'd say those are meaningful preparations.
    • wnkrshm 7y ago
      Is there a procedure for when your face itches? Use your arm? Part of a shirt?
  • millettjon 7y ago
    You can maximize immune system functioning by making sure you get proper nutrition and plenty of sleep.
    • lsllc 7y ago
      Don't forget exercise.
      • spking 7y ago
        Do you suppose gyms are a bad place to go during an outbreak? So far I haven't stopped going, but seems like it could be an especially nasty hotbed of airborne and surface-based viruses.
        • deleted 7y ago
          [deleted]
        • pmoriarty 7y ago
          You don't have to go to the gym to exercise. Plenty of bodyweight exercise (like push-ups, L-sits, planks, burpees, etc) can be done at home without any equipment. Investing in a little bit of equipment, like barbells or maybe a pull-up bar, can let you do even more exercise at home.
          • mercer 7y ago
            While I could Google this, I often prefer asking people I 'know' even as tangentially as via HN comments: any suggestions for resources about this? I'd like to exercise more, and I have an entire room available, but I'm not sure where to start. I have the one-handed weight thingies, for one, but a pull-up bar is not an option. I heard one of those ball thingies with a handle is useful?
            • Barracoon 7y ago
              This app may be useful to you. I've used it for about 6 months and have been pretty happy with it. You can customize what equipment you have available so that it builds you a workout based on that. On the other side, you can look at what equipment it lists and determine what you want to buy. https://www.fitbod.me https://www.fitbod.me
  • qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
    You should be. My business operation supply chains are disrupted. Without certain goods, I can't work. I am not without, but my suppliers have rationed some things I buy.
    • kevas 7y ago
      How bad are they disrupted? Any idea when they’ll be back up? If you have backup suppliers, are they down too?
  • the_watcher 7y ago
    I don't think OP is asking about preparing for or avoiding actually getting the disease. OP is asking about preparing for potential shortages of goods if quarantines are ultimately deployed in the US (which is what's already happening globally).
  • aaron695 7y ago
    It's hard not to down vote this. It's wrong, but the question was about what people are doing and thinking. I think it's important to see what people think and people shouldn't be down voted for being honest. But I have to be OT and say "a really dangerous variant of the common cold" - It's killing 14% of people over 80 who get it at last estimates. And permanently hurting a lot of people over 80 as well. And we don't really do flu season as well as we could, as a society we need to step up a bit in general. We could all prepare for even the flu season more than we do. Common cold, perhaps meh.
  • Fnoord 7y ago
    Me neither, I trust my government will if its required. Could burn some 10 kg and still be OK on weight. More concerned about rest of family.
• geophile 7y ago
  Things are simpler for me than for many, since I am retired. - Planning purchases for hunkering down for a few weeks: Food, water, batteries, water purifier, battery-powered radio, hand-crank power generator for radio, etc. - Sold 50% of my stock holdings. - Putting a large amount cash in my checking account. - Getting a smaller amount of cash (paper) to have at home.
  • Someone1234 7y ago
    That plan seems predicated on the assumption that COVID-19 will burn itself out and disappear in a matter of months. But there's no current evidence to suggest that will be the case, and if we look to similar diseases, they have been around for tens of years. Even if it depresses in the summer months, it will return in full force next winter (see e.g. flu, common colds, etc). Best case scenario a working vaccine is invented. But nobody currently has a proven working one (regardless of a few headlines to the contrary) and even if they did that would be 18 months minimum before mass manufacturing could begin. What I am saying is "bomb shelter"-style hunkering down will likely be ineffective if there's a mass spread in your country because the disease would out-live whatever supplies you have.
    • geophile 7y ago
      I am assuming that in the next few weeks I will need to be isolated for 3-4 weeks. I am assuming that electricity is mostly on, and water to my home is mostly available, (although possibly tainted -- preparing for that). After that, who knows. Hopefully there will be a vaccine.
      • Spellman 7y ago
        Considering the amount of time to develop and produce a vaccine for widespread distribution, I don't expect anything in place until next flu season if not the year after.
        • bluGill 7y ago
          If there is an effective vaccine I'm expecting a lot of people to be drafted to create facilities to make it in quantity. (Assuming it can't be made in the same process that the current flu shot is made). If society puts its mind to it building this infrastructure can be done very fast - it won't be the most cost effective build in ordinary times, but it will get the job done.
• AnimalMuppet 7y ago
  Whether or not coronavirus turns into a stop-all-of-society-for-weeks event, China already stopped much of their society for a while. That means that things made in China are going to get scarce in a month or so. I therefore am paying attention to what things that I regularly use are made in China, and buying a few extra now, so that I can take a month or two disruption in the supply.
  • hangphyr 7y ago
    If you speak to anyone who works in supply chain, they're all experiencing massive disruptions. Traffic from Chinese ports has slowed significantly, these things take some time before they start affecting our store shelves. Some people will be quite surprised to see how many things rely on Chinese supply, such as pharmaceuticals. Even if a product isn't exported in a finished form from China, vast amounts of our low-level supply chains rely on China.
    • james_s_tayler 7y ago
      Next some ex AWS engineer will quit Amazon to make a startup disrupting the supply chain industry with Shuffle Sharded Supply Chains. Gotta limit that blast radius after all.
  • ganeshkrishnan 7y ago
    It depends on which part of China. Some of our manufacturers have already started work and shipping. Few of them haven't resumed work and expect to on first week of March. Most of our suppliers are in India and Nepal but it's business as usual in these countries
  • Dowwie 7y ago
    A lot of food comes from China
• bartread 7y ago
  We ran a drill a couple of weeks back where everybody worked from home to ensure that if we have to close our office we are able to continue working (assuming we're not ill, of course). This was really just to shake out any issues. Fortunately, since most of us already work remotely for at least some of the time we didn't have any significant issues. Beyond that, nothing really.
  • twistedanimator 7y ago
    Wow, that's refreshingly forward thinking! I wish my company took remote work seriously.
    • hunta2097 7y ago
      Yeah there is nothing special about the internet in the office!
      • WrtCdEvrydy 7y ago
        We can watch people and make sure they work - Management And what happens when the Management goes on Vacation during the holiday break? - Me * Stunned Management
  • bob1029 7y ago
    We are in a similar situation. 99% of the time everyone is working remote so we don't even really think about this stuff anymore. Our company has been operating like this for nearly a decade. There is a core group that works at a physical office, but they also have the ability to work remote for an indefinite period of time if the need arises. Distributed/remote companies are amazing for handling disaster scenarios like this. Hurricanes, floods, pandemics, zombies, you name it. We usually just work right through it.
  • alexis_fr 7y ago
    If we are constrained to work remotely, the network may experience issues too. The 4G and internet also need actual interventions. If we must work remotely, internet companies may also have to.
• binarytide 7y ago
  going to a tech conference!....
• binarytide 7y ago
  Going to a tech conference!...
• tmaly 7y ago
  I wash my hands well and try to avoid touching my face. I try to avoid touching bathroom door handles and use some type of napkin or glove. I have been doing this for a long time, so its not really something I am doing just for this virus. If you read CDC website they also recommend washing hands and avoid touching your face. It is much harder if you have small kids, just don’t forget to also wash their hands if they have been out in public places.
  • nabla9 7y ago
    General advice for any bug that transfers trough fecal-oral route, not just for COVID-19: 1. Dot's store your toothbrush in the bathroom (at least during the times when you suspect that some family member might get infected). There are fecal matter particles in the bathroom air. You can get the ass-to-mouth transfer in the same household from toothbrushes stored in the bathroom. 2. Close the toilet lid before you flush and leave it closed. It does not solve the issue but it helps.
    • rp00 7y ago
      Also, don’t eat ass
    • thinkmassive 7y ago
      I'm also a long-time supporter of these. A bonus of #2 is that it puts everyone on equal ground, no arguments about leaving the seat up or down.
      • undersuit 7y ago
        Yes, it's my go to for the stupid argument as a pet owner.
    • tmaly 7y ago
      I never thought of toothbrush issue. I keep a cap on my brush and store it in cabinet
      • 7y ago
• davidw 7y ago
  Bought some extra food; planning on buying some extra dayquil type medication. Fervently hoping that maybe I can donate some of it if things blow over. Maybe getting some extra soap, and especially TP. I'll be the king of the neighborhood if I'm the last one with real TP!
  • wenc 7y ago
    > I'll be the king of the neighborhood if I'm the last one with real TP! Consider getting a portable bidet as an alternative. All you need is water.
• ajay_sibri04 7y ago
  Personally, i'm not taking it seriously at all. I'm in my 20s. If I get it I'll take some sinus medication and ibuprofen.
• allovernow 7y ago
  This is very likely to overwhelm not just medical infrastructure, but shut down supply chains for basic necessities for months. If the pandemic hits, most businesses will shutter, just like in China. It is prudent to stock up now for 1-2 months of cheap, non- perishable foods like rice and beans (complete protein together) at a minimum. There's just no excuse not to now if you make a tech salary - a couple hundred dollars and you have an emergency stash which is good for years. This isn't just about personal protection - the whole community and nation can expect better outcomes of we stagger preparations, lessening the chance and impact of everyone running to the store at the same time. There is no question now that this is an unprecedented event, now is the time to prepare to mitigate risk.
  • justinzollars 7y ago
    You could also donate these types of items after a vaccine is developed.
  • dfsegoat 7y ago
    I find this to be pretty alarmist. "If the pandemic hits" ... the virus has already hit. The WHO itself has backed off the Pandemic classification [1]. The virus has an overall 98% survival rate, and most diagnosed cases in the US, are not actually showing any symptoms (which itself is a cause for concern re: spread). The annual Flu, MERS and SARS were far far worse. The flu kills between 26,000 and 52,000 annually in the US [2], and as much as I love prepping, this just does not fit the bill for the amount of FUD it has generated. edit: comments are making me re-think my position. COVID is far worse mortality rate wise in 65+ patients vs flu. 1 - https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/who-tries-to-calm-talk-of-pandemic-says-the-word-does-not-fit-the-facts/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/who-tries-to-calm-ta... 2 - https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html
    • yummybear 7y ago
      How is a virus, more contagious and more lethal than flu/MERS/SARS, a smaller problem?
• justinzollars 7y ago
  I'm obsessed with China and to watch a modern society go from 100 to near zero, is incredible. That concerns me especially living in San Francisco where it seems society is already fragile to say the least. - I stopped taking public transportation on January 20th; so I'm biking to work now. I'm much more healthy because of this decision - invested in Gold, Gold stocks and puts expiring March 20th betting against the market (Though I did most of this 2 years ago because of the trade war, and the puts were purchased in December) - I've got some extra food and water, and lots of purell - I've called my grandparents and told them, the virus is very dangerous effecting older people [1]. I told them to stock up on food medicine, and if they hear word of it spreading to stay indoors. [1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coronavirus-fatality-rates-vary-wildly-depending-on-age-gender-and-medical-history-some-patients-fare-much-worse-than-others-2020-02-26 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coronavirus-fatality-rates...
• rwmj 7y ago
  My wife cancelled a holiday in the Far East. The airline seemed to be overwhelmed by people doing the same thing, so probably the time to short airline stocks.
  • fred_is_fred 7y ago
    The time to short airline stocks was 2 weeks ago.
  • wenc 7y ago
    There is a place for shorts i.e. as price discovery mechanism, and in many cases, as a price correction mechanism to reveal fundamental weaknesses in a company with overpriced stock. Shorting stocks to take advantage of a disaster strikes me as one of the most unethical, immoral things one can do. People still do it, but it doesn't make it right. (apologies for the moralizing -- my sentiments are not directed at OP who was merely musing and shooting the breeze -- but at amoral Wall Street types).
    • rwmj 7y ago
      I mean, it's an airline. While the CEO might lose his bonus, it's unlikely for a bit of short selling to drive the airline out of business (and so for people to lose their jobs), so I don't think this is really a moral issue. Also, this is exactly a price discovery mechanism - the airline isn't going to be as profitable so it isn't as valuable!
      • wenc 7y ago
        You could be right, but I think the ethics on it are less neutral than that. (it's hard to say what "a bit" of short selling is -- there are feedback loops in the stock market) Airlines provide fast connectivity between cities for people and goods, which is valuable in a disaster situation, and by shorting a stock to make a few bucks, you'd be creating unfavorable transportation economics in a disaster situation and possibly worsening supply chain constrictions. A short seller would be profiting off the hardship of others.
• dsteinman 7y ago
  My last order of assembled PCB's has been on hold since late December. I don't even know of an affordable alternative that isn't also in China.
  • pwg 7y ago
    While not a source for 'assembled', https://oshpark.com/ https://oshpark.com/ claims to manufacture just the PCB's in the USA for $5/sq inch in three board units.
• cronix 7y ago
  I haven't done too much, but that's because I'm generally prepared with 2 months food/water supply for general purpose emergencies. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we're expecting a pretty large earthquake as we're statistically overdue. Once panic has set in, it's too late to prepare for much of anything. Preparing is taking action beforehand, not after. I mean, if we even get news of 100 degree weather in this part of the country, the air conditioners fly off the shelves. When there's a possibility of a snow storm, everybody panics at once and empties the grocery shelves.
  • dangom 7y ago
    Definitely good to be prepared, but AFAIK there is no such thing as being "statistically overdue" for an earthquake.
    • specialp 7y ago
      Yeah there is. It is not like saying that if black hit on roulette 10x in a row that one would be statistically overdue for red. Because those are completely independent events with equal probability on each trial. With earthquakes if statically speaking a massive earthquake hits on a roughly 1 in 500 year interval, the stresses at the plate boundary are much more likely to be greater at year 600 than at year 1 after a massive earthquake. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18april/eqmodels.php https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18a...
      • deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      • kirrent 7y ago
        If only earthquake modelling was so simple as to say you were overdue for an earthquake simply based on accumulated stress. Unfortunately, the Gutenberg-Richter law is not prescriptive, but a time independent statistical observation which assumes independent events, which is why saying you're due for another one is very much like gambler's fallacy. Of course we know that there are underlying physical processes which make means there should be some underlying dependence to be found, and there are attempts at time-dependent models out there, but for our purposes independence works. If you're interested in the statistics around recurrence times, can I recommend this [1]? It's fairly well written and clear and it deals with this issue fairly comprehensively and directly. [1] - http://www.crm.cat/en/About/People/Researchers/ACorral/Documents/corral_dependence_times_independencd_magnitudes_tp06.pdf http://www.crm.cat/en/About/People/Researchers/ACorral/Docum...
• chipuni 7y ago
  I picked up some extra, long-term food from CostCo. Stuff that won't go bad within a few months. Pasta, rice, almonds, some canned goods. Stuff that we'll eat off of for the next few months, regardless of what happens with COVID-19.
• mindcrime 7y ago
  I'm already a little bit of a prepper, so really just "more of the same" here. Since there's not really a cure/vaccine for the specific disease yet, there's not much to do on the medical front specifically. That said, being ill with covid19 sounds like it would be similar to the flu for many people, so I'll stock up on OTC medicines that provide some symptom relief / make it possible to sleep. Mucinex, Nyquil, things of that nature. Beyond that... I'll add to my stock of non-perishable foods: rice, beans, beef jerky, trail mix, and such-like. I plan to stock up on some bottled water as well, but I don't focus so much on water since A. it's heavy/bulky and hard to store and B. I live near many natural freshwater streams/creeks/lakes/rivers/etc. and I would rather focus on a "water purification capability" than on just stocking large amounts of water. To that end, I already keep some water purification supplies. But the thing I'm thinking about now, is building a distilling outfit. That way, as long as I have water (fresh or salt) available, and fire making supplies and firewood, I can make relatively clean water. I also plan to add a little more to my stockpile of candles, lamp oil, batteries, etc. And I'll probably use this as an excuse to add to my (small) stash of 9mm ammo as well.
• haunter 7y ago
  Tokyo local government has a good english guide, tho it's meant for earthquakes mostly the preparation list is really good https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/english/guide/bosai/index.html https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/english/guide/bosai/index.html
• RegnisGnaw 7y ago
  Refill your medication(s), that's the biggest one. India produces a lot of drugs and if they get infected, we will see shortage. China also produces a lot of the base chemicals used in medication, so this is worry some. If you have chronic conditions, you really don't want to be without. Soap and sanitizer. Mostly soap. Soap is equally effective as sanitizer in washing hands, etc. Soap is also much cheaper and more available. If the local region goes into lock down, you're not going out much so soap will work well. Get one to two weeks of food and supplies in case. There isn't going to be a global shortage, but we may see short term runs on supplies. Include stuff like tooth brush, mouth wash, and etc. For my wife I also stocked up on a larger supplies of feminine hygiene products. Masks. I got 20 per family member in our local area. For when you need to go out and restock food. Also learn how to properly use the mask.
  • agumonkey 7y ago
    Actually last year a few pharmacies in France told us they were short of some pills. Then we learned that only a few brands were manufacturing them .. so almost a single point of failure.
    • WrtCdEvrydy 7y ago
      Globalization as made this less likely but most countries will now allow emergency imports if the situation gets critical.
      • garmaine 7y ago
        Globalization makes this more likely. Before globalization there were manufacturers distributed all over serving different markets. Now there are global monopolies on production (for particular drugs), which makes production very vulnerable to supply chain disruption.
        • agumonkey 7y ago
          AFAIK that's what the pharmacist hinted at, there are brands, but the manufacturing plants are shared.
• Havoc 7y ago
  I’m stocking up on soylent type powder. That plus water can probably keep me alive for a fair amount of time
  • honest_tovarich 7y ago
    LOL sure it will.
• yuy910616 7y ago
  I joke with coworkers that I want to get it on my own terms. Since the death rate is relatively low, I'd rather get it first when the medical infrastructure is not overwhelmed and that I'm 100% healthy. I can even scheduled ahead and finish some projects to work around the virus.
  • fctorial 7y ago
    Would you do it though?
    • yuy910616 7y ago
      No
  • sauwan 7y ago
    Just until it starts mutating just like the common cold...
• lurquer 7y ago
  Wouldn't it be prudent to try and get the virus as soon as possible? Apparently, it's not that dangerous of a disease assuming you have medical care available. So, now is the time to get it... when you have the entire intensive care unit st your disposal. If you hide out in your bunker, wear your mask, and follow the CDC's advice, you'll probably not get it for a few months. But when you do, instead of having a nice empty intensive care unit at your disposal, you'll be laying in a hospital corridor, unattended, surrounded by body bags and moaning patients. So, my preparation is to book a trip to Wuhan with a layover in Italy. Tickets are super cheap.
  • yuy910616 7y ago
    wow dude...I had exactly the same line of thought
  • gambiting 7y ago
    Apparently even though it's unlikely to kill you, it's still likely to leave you with long lasting damage, so no, I think I'd rather try as hard as possible to avoid catching it in the first place.
    • rp00 7y ago
      Yeah heart damage. No thanks.
      • atarian 7y ago
        Do you have anything to back that up? According to a study published last week: >There were a few interstitial mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates, but no other substantial damage in the heart tissue https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30076-X/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2...
  • pupppet 7y ago
    No one is certain you can't get it twice.
• avgDev 7y ago
  I work in manufacturing sector and this can become a real serious issue for everyone. So many things are made in China that we might see some supply issues. This will have an affect on literally everything we buy in the US. We might see some interesting price spikes. I don't even know what my company will do if we simply cannot fill our orders. I am preparing to refinance my house though, the virus is really shaking up the stock market and pushing the mortgage rates down.
  • aaomidi 7y ago
    Are you seeing issues with manufacturing currently?
    • avgDev 7y ago
      It has not affected my company directly yet, but people are quite uneasy.
• rp00 7y ago
  just typed a novel then decided against it. everyone needs to make their own decisions about their preparedness. For me, I’m preparing for (not the worst, but bad enough to keep me at home for several weeks). Hoping for the best. -Stocked up on food/water -Stocked up my medicine cabinet -Reduced my exposure to stocks by 75% -Turned off all automated investments -Consuming zerohedge via RSS for news ahead of the normal cycle -not trusting a word of any government mouthpiece
• abraae 7y ago
  By not having kids. Joking, but although we are well prepared for isolation (work mostly from home, live in the countryside in one of the remotest countries in the world, have off-grid solar and 3 rainwater tanks and could probably forage enough to live for a long time from fishing and gathering), all of that is undone by having a school aged kid. That means unavoidable contact with a wide group of other kids, from a variety of different home situations, several of whom may have runny noses etc. at any point in time.
  • CalRobert 7y ago
    We are in a similar situation (cottage in a fairly isolated plot in Ireland, 100% remote work) but the toddler is quite the transmission vector.
  • jackjeff 7y ago
    Empirically 3 out of 4 times I get the cold, it is from one of my kids. If things get really bad I imagine schools will close. If kids are “old enough” they may get some remote homework. Not great but doable. But if you have a toddler you are pretty much stuffed. I can’t imagine what stay at home quarantine would to my 3 year old. It gets bad enough when we get stuck for the weekend because of storms... but TWO WHOLE WEEKS OR MORE?!!
    • senordevnyc 7y ago
      Ugh, agree. I’m in NYC and I have a 4 year old. The prospect of my wife and I both working from home with our daughter for weeks (or longer?!?) is nightmare fuel. Seriously considering trying to rent something in the woods outside the city for a few months but that comes with its own issues...
    • huherto 7y ago
      I believe kids are actually much more resistant to this virus.
• ravenstine 7y ago
  I've already been preparing as a hobby for the last 3 years, not specifically for coronavirus, but here's how I'm prepared for it: - I work remotely, so I can hunker down at home and have my income totally unaffected. - I've close to 6 months worth of food, and I've been buying more in the last month as the news continues. I can give some tips on what I think is good inexpensive food to get in case anyone is interested. - I'm fasting regularly, which will realistically extend my food supply. Most people calculate their food supply by 3 meals a day plus snacks, but you can go days without eating. Right now I'm closing in on 72 hours without food. I'm perfectly fine. You get used to it. The key is getting your electrolytes and getting out of your sugar addiction. - I have lots of water stored up, although that's not going to be much of a problem with COVID-19. Several filters meant to remove viruses, though I have a distiller so I would probably just use that if I was really that paranoid about my water, which I probably won't be. - My medicine cabinet has everything you can think of and more. I have 2 first aid kits and a trauma kit. I have what it takes to turn the entrance to my home into a decon chamber, if need be. I have tons of bleach and disinfectants. - I have full gas masks with filters, including adapters for 3M filters, which should be perfectly sufficient to remove droplets in the air. I also have full tyvek suits in case there's a worst case scenario but I have to leave my home. I have lots of N95 masks, but obviously you can't count on those for very much. I certainly don't have the belief that even the gas masks will prevent anything. It's just hedging my bets. --- All that said, I am not paranoid. I don't even have anxiety over it. Those things I mentioned would only come into play if things went extremely bad. My life wouldn't be very different if I had to stay indoors for months on end, so long as utilities continue to operate. Even if the supply chain broke down, I would probably be better off staying indoors than trying to bug out to somewhere else. One other thing I'm doing is trying to sell off a high value items I've been holding on to, but I'm selling them off now because the money could save me from strife if there's widespread infection and my job totally falls apart.
  • abraae 7y ago
    > I'm fasting regularly, which will realistically extend my food supply. Isn't fasting the opposite of storing food for an emergency? Surely storing food on your body as fat is one of the safest and easiest ways to store it.
• idiocratic 7y ago
  Not at all. I think the media is overestimating the effects of this virus. The world will realise that soon and everyone will calm down. I can see this effect right now in Italy. I in one of the affected regions and while a few people have been queueing to empty shelves at the supermarket, I'll go tomorrow for a normal weekly grocery shopping. Supermarkets are fully stocked again and everyone is doing well. The main issue is in people's mind, at least right now.
  • mtmalla 7y ago
    Famous last words.
  • SuddsMcDuff 7y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias
    • idiocratic 7y ago
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion Psychosis. Anyone believes what they want in the end. This was just my opinion.
• Taniwha 7y ago
  I already have - I manufacture an open source hardware product in Shenzhen and ship the results worldwide using a fulfillment service there. We shut down as usual for CNY and that shutdown extended longer until the beginning of this week, from my point of view the disruptions are over and my backlog has shipped - though I know that things in Shenzhen are not back to normal (and I'm putting off a manufacturing trip until they are).
• robodale 7y ago
  Not a damned thing. I'm actually traveling outside the country (USA) in two days.
• bronco21016 7y ago
  I see lots of advice about stocking up on basic supplies and being ready to stay home/indoors for a few weeks up to a couple of months. It sounds like great advice and my family is already building our stores up some from the typical stock. Does anyone have any advice though for those of us that have to leave the house? My job is literally travel. I don’t have much choice other than a leave of absence or exhausting sick leave etc. My biggest concern is bringing this thing home to my little one.
  • joezydeco 7y ago
    Right. And another concern I don't see addressed anywhere: what happens if one member of your family gets it? What preparation do you need to isolate/quarantine that person while still trying to take care of them? Do you just settle for the fact you're all infected at that point?
    • davidw 7y ago
      Take what precautions you can in the hopes that you delay getting it until the other person is doing a bit better?
    • theNJR 7y ago
      I was wondering about this too. Do you lock your wife in the guest room with a multi-stage plastic tarp to deliver food?
      • huherto 7y ago
        Do it know. She may already be sick. Don't wait for the symptoms.
        • theNJR 7y ago
          “Hey honey, come with me...”
  • sdinsn 7y ago
    If we get to the point that the government recommends self-quarantine, your job will probably be put on pause.
• starpilot 7y ago
  100 gal of water and growing, 1,000 rounds of JHP, rice and red lentils. Bring it.
  • selimthegrim 7y ago
    JHP?
    • mothsonasloth 7y ago
      Jacketed Hollow Point bullets Essentially they create a shockwave in a soft target, causing a lot more damage than a Full Metal Jacket round (FMJ).
      • selimthegrim 7y ago
        I thought cops lobbied for restrictions on this ammo
        • starpilot 7y ago
          They did.
• pkaye 7y ago
  Since I'm on home dialysis, I'll be pretty screwed if this goes on too long. I usually get medical supplies once a month and have probably an extra 2 weeks of backup supplies. Medications I can usually get 3 months at a time so I have plenty. In terms of food and home essentials, we tend to shop in bulk normally so just need to make sure we are stocked up.
• 0x1221 7y ago
  I guess it's the selective aspect of a question like this but I'm genuinely surprised that so many people in this thread are taking actual measures.
  • cycrutchfield 7y ago
    Not too farfetched if you read a lot of news and see what is going on in other countries that are affected.
    • rimliu 7y ago
      Most of that's going is overreacting people hoarding supplies.
      • cycrutchfield 7y ago
        Precisely. Which causes supply shortages, and then you can't buy what you need. The whole point is to be ahead of the crowds.
        • earenndil 7y ago
          So basically a bank run but with naturally (not artificially) limited resources. Great...
      • paulgb 7y ago
        Ironically, when I considered the likely outcomes, the one that convinced me to stock up on food was not actual supply chain distruptions (which I see as possible but fairly unlikely), but that mass hording will lead to shortages (which I see as very likely).
        • misterprime 7y ago
          Kinda like a run on the banks. There may be no good reason for it, but it's still gonna happen.
        • 7y ago
• valas 7y ago
  Looking at the overflowing hospitals in Wuhan, I'm preparing for the possibility of being mildly sick at home and not being able to get a bed in the hospital. The best hope is then that somehow we reduce chance of cross-infection inside the family. For that I got: - Oxygen/HR meter ($15 @ Amazon) to monitor when oxygenation drops real low so that we know we have to get to ER and staying at home is suicidal. - Some medical gloves, some masks (not hoarding - I think we have ~50 cheap masks from the time Bay Area was full of smoke). - A ton of tissues and toilet paper. - UV lamps to disinfect rooms. - Basic staple foods to last for quite a while. It's quite likely I won't be able to prevent cross-infection, but at least I've tried.
  • agumonkey 7y ago
    I was reading this comment while this was on my screen https://youtu.be/XSS_sOLoB68?t=1795 https://youtu.be/XSS_sOLoB68?t=1795
• ttcbj 7y ago
  Over the last few weeks, we have acquired enough food/supplies to stay isolated at our house for about 2 months (a combination of bulk rice/beans/grains, and pre-purchasing anything we use regularly which has a long expiration date). We also have medicines/toiletries/etc to last that long. Maybe 10-12 years ago I read the book 'The Great Influenza'[1], and there are enough similarities between that outbreak and this one that we are taking it fairly seriously. Although that book isn't perfect, it has a lot of detailed and fascinating explanation on (a) the development of scientific medicine in Europe and then the US (b) the way flu works, is transmitted, etc (c) the way that specific pandemic played out. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-History/dp/0143036491/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1W28KGSKAFEWB&keywords=the+great+influenza+john+barry&qid=1582752359&sprefix=The+Great+Influenz%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-Hi...
  • jackjeff 7y ago
    I was under the impression that the Spanish flu was very different from the regular flu and COVID-19, because it was the young/old people that survived it and the healthy 20-50 year old that died the most. Most people died of the Spanish Flu because of their immune response. It looks like COVID-19 is really mild* for lots of people in that age group. Am I missing something? Did the Spanish flu start like COVID-19 and evolved later?
    • spanxx 7y ago
      I wish people stop calling that Spanish Flu where it's totally unrelated to Spain...
      • tcbasche 7y ago
        Yeah! Coronavirus doesn't even have anything to do with the beer!
        • BrianHenryIE 7y ago
          Since you made me wonder: > corona: "crown" (from latin corōna, meaning "crown") > virus: "poisonous secretion" (from latin vīrus, meaning "venom" or "poisonous secretion") > Coronavirus, the virus responsible for 30% of common colds, as well as SARS, has the appearance of a crown (corona) under electron microscopy, due to the spike proteins that coat the viral surface. Viruses, being so small, might have been thought of before they were discovered, to be poisonous secretions (virus) of unknown origin, hence their name. https://medicaletymology.fandom.com/wiki/Coronavirus https://medicaletymology.fandom.com/wiki/Coronavirus
• jdkee 7y ago
  Costco.
• ryan-allen 7y ago
  A few weeks of super boring food, in case of supply chain disruptions and the inevitable panic and wholesale stripping of food by panicky people. Water and power will be fine, a gaggle of soccer mom's buying out the whole supermarket is more likely depending on how the media portrays the problem.
• dana321 7y ago
  Extra Potatoes, milk and oil, boyo.. Thats about it.
• undersuit 7y ago
  I'm chilling. I have doctor's orders to not lift or bend until April... whereupon I travel through multiple international airports to visit my ailing grandparents. I'm not expecting World War Z zombie worm-hordes, but maybe I should have my care taker grab an extra box of rice the next time they go shopping for me.
• droithomme 7y ago
  I have a couple weeks of food and water, which I bought slowly one day at a time so the store had plenty of time to restock, and they did. I have a few N95 masks. These I got late at a painting supply place. I have a great deal of surgical masks and disposable gloves, which I bought years ago. On order is a UV disinfecting chamber to enable mask reuse. I'm not getting full body suits or protecting against long term electricity loss as that's certainly possible but if it comes to that might as well just die really. I have a lot of guns and ammo to protect against supply attacks, but didn't have to buy more of that, that is something I already had anyway. I completely cashed out of the stock market last week. Will result in a very large tax bill for the non-401k part. Was hoping to cash that stuff in during retirement instead. I've stopped eating in restaurants and only go to the store during hours when few people are there.
• kempbellt 7y ago
  By listening to "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. Seriously, stressing out about this is going to create more problems than the virus itself. Humans love starting panic parades anytime something scary happens. Best thing to do is not worry about it.
  • marshray 7y ago
    > Seriously, stressing out about this is going to create more problems than the virus itself. Humans love starting panic parades anytime something scary happens. Best thing to do is not worry about it. This is absolutely, uncategorically, false.
    • runjake 7y ago
      ... because... ?
      • dagav 7y ago
        Because some things are worth worrying about, and that anxiety is an impetus to take actions which may improve the situation for you and the people around you.
      • marshray 7y ago
        Because it has infected tens (probably hundreds) of thousands of people around the world, completely overwhelmed hospital systems, and there's very little reason to expect it will different where you are.
        • runjake 7y ago
          Fair enough. Is it killing a significant amount of non-immunocompromised people? I haven't devoted a lot of attention to COVID-19, but would assume it doesn't have a high casualty rate among healthy people who practice the basics (rest and hydration)? I guess one way to look at it is that it's a model for handling a much deadlier bug. And the world is doing a mediocre job at it.
• MikeGale 7y ago
  Some things to consider (we're doing most of these): 1. Find out what is going on, the Interwebs are your friends. The press and politicians aren't much use. The bureaucracy (China, Japan, Iran for example) are not much use and may make things worse. 2. Carry around some sanitising, no water, hand cleaner. 3. Get a few decent masks and read up how long to use them. 4. Find out what Fomites are and think about what that means. 5. Read up on hand cleaning. What you do now, CDC style, WHO style, operating theatre style and decide what to do. Start now. 6. Practice coughing and sneezing in a safe way, even if you're not naturally doing that now. 7. Study up on the Bayesian priors of the different ways the disease may hit you, 80% pretty mild. Check incubation times, up to 24 days, so who knows why they're still using 14. Asymptomatic people can spread for all, or most, of those incubation days. Get your mind into thinking about those and all the mechanics. If you're really determined solve some of the ODE's, for SIR, SEIR etc. program that and run your own epidemic progression models. 8. Prepare for a siege if it comes to that. Maybe write out operating procedures and lay in some supplies. For example if people have to deliver food etc. and leave it on the doorstep or whatever, work out the details. 9. Go visit people you care about who are frail or have compromised immune systems BEFORE anything breaks. 10. With Epidemics the populace is generally slow to realise it has started and also slow to realise it has finished. Think about that, prepare yourself. Don't be one of the fools. 11. If you don't already work from home, or have an understanding about that, get it fixed right away. 12. All the above also for your nearest and dearest too. ENUF.
  • sethammons 7y ago
    Working from home doesn't account for having kids who are going to school. That is a larger vector than most workplaces.
• jklein11 7y ago
  I booked a trip to Orlando. The wait time for Hagrid's Motorbike ride is under 2 hours!
• SuddsMcDuff 7y ago
  I think panic, chaos and social disruption are a more imminent threat than the virus itself at this point. As such I've stocked up on basic household food and supplies so that I don't have to go out into that chaos if it hits. The last thing I want is to be stuck in a huge queue at a petrol (gas) station, or getting punched out over the last turnip at the supermarket. Being prepared means I am one less person contributing to that chaos, one less person driving like a maniac on the roads desperately looking for toilet paper.
• hazeii 7y ago
  The usual. Eat well, exercise, stay healthy, best practice hygeine.
• Tade0 7y ago
  My father had the misfortune of being a civilian in Kuwait during the first gulf war. What I learned from his stories is that the line between normalcy and utter chaos is thinner than one would think. The war itself from the perspective of someone not actively participating is mostly boring (his words) - you can't really go outside, cable is down(no internet back then), not much is happening. But the brief transition period between peace and war is the worst. People desperately trying to stock up in the last minutes, quickly realizing that it's pointless to stand in line and pay when there are so many more of them than the supermarket's staff. I, for one, "prepared" by weighing 10kg more than a few years ago. I have body fat to spare. My only worry is a good source of water-soluble vitamins.
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
    • deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  • atarian 7y ago
    Fat is actually one of the last things the body burns during starvation. Your muscles usually go first.
    • heavyset_go 7y ago
      Yep, and the process is hard on the kidneys.
      • kaffeemitsahne 7y ago
        Which one, muscle or fat burning?
        • heavyset_go 7y ago
          Breakdown of muscle tissue releases proteins that are damaging to the kidneys. It's called rhabdomyolysis. Excessive exertion, infections and starvation can cause it.
• Arbalest 7y ago
  I'm making preparations, but I think I'm going to have to make even more. Having one child under two, and another just about to be born, I really can't afford their exposure, when they'll still be in a developmental phase that leaves them especially prone to permanent damage.
  • senordevnyc 7y ago
    I think you should take whatever reasonable precautions help you feel better, but just to put your mind at ease a little: one of the few bright spots with this virus is that it doesn’t seem especially dangerous to kids. To my knowledge there have been zero deaths of any kids under the age of 10. I have a 4 year old and I’m much more concerned about her parents and grandparents than her.
    • jedberg 7y ago
      > I have a 4 year old and I’m much more concerned about her parents Isn't that you? :)
      • senordevnyc 7y ago
        Yes :)
    • mhandley 7y ago
      We ought to ship all our kids off to some boarding school somewhere, and deliberately infect the lot of them. Once they've recovered and are immune, they can come home again! Unsurprisingly, I've not actually suggested this to my kids, who I doubt would be too happy, but way back before the measles vaccine, parents did hold measles parties so all the kids got measles while they were young enough for it to be relatively mild. To be clear: not recommended for measles these days - just get the vaccine.
• larrrydavid 7y ago
  I just want to know if the govt will come and weld apartment entrances shut in NYC. Can't imagine how the city will be if it gets hit. Smh
• azemetre 7y ago
  Just stocked up on more food to last a month. Additional items that might be hard to find if mass buyouts ensue at stores like toiler paper, kitchen towels, cleaning supplies, anti-bacterial wipes. I always make sure I have at least 3/4ths of a tank of gas in my car. Stuff like a decent first-aid kit plus some batteries. For entertainment, making sure I have enough movies, ebooks, and music downloaded in-case the internet goes down but electricity is up. I'm only envisioning that the local government might declare a state of emergency which means working from home, closing schools, possibly public transit, and having the local stores completely sold out of necessities. No water as I rely on tap water. I'm working under the assumption that if things get bad under "lock-down," it'll only last three weeks. I live in a small apartment and I'm unable to prepare for any prolonged period of time (3+ months). If society were to collapsed I am not prepared at all.
• m3kw9 7y ago
  You just need to look at China for its worse. Prob no worse than what’s happening there. Prepare accordingly, don’t hoard 4 months worth of stuff, if things does get that worse you have bigger things to worry about
  • xiphias2 7y ago
    What can be bigger than that? I have seen interview with a person in Wuhan and his biggest problem is running out of food.
    • dx87 7y ago
      Other people coming to take your food. If there are major food shortages and you have a big stockpile, you better hope you have a way to keep yourself secure.
      • wonderwonder 7y ago
        vs not having a stockpile and hoping that if you just explain to people that you have no food they will stay out?
      • xiphias2 7y ago
        Are things that bad? I'm not sure if it's impossible to buy food, it's just people try not to leave their homes.
• logfromblammo 7y ago
  The best way to prepare for COVID-19 is to already be prepared for a wide variety of civic disruptions. Have enough food and water on hand to shelter in place for up to 2 weeks. Never let your gasoline dip below a quarter tank. Have some paperback books and candles on hand. Have some duct tape and plastic drop cloths. Keep some camping gear. Practice not panicking. Keep a bottle of plain, unscented bleach on hand, and practice diluting it to 10% of the bottle concentration. If you don't already have supplies specific to COVID-19, the desperate and the hoarders have probably already snapped up what you might want, and the opportunists reselling it at a 400% markup.
• SkyBelow 7y ago
  Extra water, food, toiletries, etc. If nothing happens, I just won't have to shop as much. If something does happen, I can survive a few months without having to go outside.
• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• kawfey 7y ago
  I'm not. If I get it, I get it. I'll probably be fine. I'm a healthy twenty-something. If it hits hard, I'll wear my lightly used N95 respirator I use for housework, and gloves everywhere I go, hand sanitizer if I don't, limit my travel and exposure to the public. If it gets epidemically bad, I'll hide in my basement with my ham radios and 2mo of food stores for my wife and cats until it all blows over. I have been considering withdrawing a large amount of cash, just in case.
  • ouid 7y ago
    If you're 20 something, you have around 60 years of life left meaning that 2 months is about .3% of your remaining life. The probability, likewise, of dying of coronavirus if you get coronavirus is on the order of .1%, it seems. Spending 2 months of your life trying to not get the coronavirus seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water, to me.
• akaryocyte 7y ago
  I found this post useful "So you think you’re about to be in a pandemic?" : https://virologydownunder.com/so-you-think-youve-about-to-be-in-a-pandemic/ https://virologydownunder.com/so-you-think-youve-about-to-be...
  • owenversteeg 7y ago
    Wow, only 0.9% of deaths occurred among those without comorbidities? That sounds very low, I'm surprised!
    • pmoriarty 7y ago
      That's still 5 to 10 times worse than the flu.
• metalgearsolid 7y ago
  I stocked up on this new limited edition Eggo cereal, as it is the spiritual successor to the long forgotten Waffle Crisp, the #1 cereal from my childhood. Honey Comb simply does not compare, don't even bother mentioning it. If things start getting scary, I'll stock up on some milk. (I'm not doing anything)
• lquist 7y ago
  I found this Atlantic Monthly article written by a public health expert to be helpful: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/covid-vaccine/607000/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/covid-vac...
• Fomite 7y ago
  Shifting my graduate students from other projects to work on coronavirus work.
  • jacquesm 7y ago
    Very appropriate username.
• fmax30 7y ago
  @dang can we please lock this thread, as it seems to be creating more FUD than there is already. I think I haven't been so stressed out about reading anything on the internet in the last few years as much as this ask hn. Edit: spelling
  • gjs278 7y ago
    help!!!! I can’t close the thread. I need a jannie to stop this talking!!!!!! help!!!!! you’re fucking pathetic. log off you fucking pussy.
• sphix0r 7y ago
  I always tend to have enough food at home that would last me two weeks easily. I would fill my bathtub in case things start to get more serious. That should be enough drinking water for some time.
• baryphonic 7y ago
  Yes. Just bought quite a bit of canned food and bottled water today. May pick up a solar-based generator (100-200W).
• 205guy 7y ago
  When I saw the last thread about people's guesses about where this is going (the one about the Tokyo Olympics possible cancellation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22420148 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22420148), I thought the next one should be: Ask HN: Do you have COVID-19? This is much better, less alarmist, but I think we'll need the one above sooner or later. BTW, I'm in the camp thinking it will be inevitable, and last week we stockpiled about 1 month worth of food and supplies. If/when it hits our area, we can just stay home.
• lacker 7y ago
  My preparation so far is the same as earthquake preparation - to be sure that I have a supply of food and water for a few days. It seems like a pretty reasonable generic preparation for disaster. I am interested in doing more, but it isn't really clear to me what else would be useful.
• christiansakai 7y ago
  Today I just bought 2 weeks stock of food for me and my mom. We don’t eat much. (NYC here)
• heavyset_go 7y ago
  For those of you who think the odds of dying from this outbreak are low: you're probably right. However, rolling the dice with any kind of pneumonia is a bad idea. Viral pneumonia opens you up to potentially acquiring a secondary bacterial pneumonia infection, which have much higher mortality rates. Bacterial pneumonia has a 30% mortality rate. I had pneumonia in the past, and that experience was the only time I truly believed that I might die. It's a truly incapacitating condition.
• dicroce 7y ago
  When Ebola was kicking off a few years ago I had a realization: If you wait to prepare until everyone agrees preparation makes sense then it's too late. That said the prepper mindset is a slippery slope... so I think the answer is to prepare some but don't get too into it.
• dr_dshiv 7y ago
  Buying stock while the market is low.
• matchagaucho 7y ago
  I recently returned from Asia and completed a 14-day self quarantine. I was there most of Jan and Feb, when the virus news was emerging. The area I was in became highly xenophobic. It was disturbing to watch. 90% of prevention is just boosting the immune system, washing hands, and not touching your face. Carry hand cleanser everywhere and use it frequently. When I felt a scratch in my throat I'd stop by a 7 Eleven, buy a $1 bottle of gin, and gargle. I contemplated actually consuming the gin. But that would take a toll on the immune system :-)
  • pmoriarty 7y ago
    "When I felt a scratch in my throat I'd stop by a 7 Eleven, buy a $1 bottle of gin, and gargle." Wait. What? I don't think that's actually effective at ridding you of a viral infection.
    • matchagaucho 7y ago
      Right. Doesn't help an infection. Probably makes it worse. But I suspect there's a window of about 30 minutes where the efficacy of alcohol on the hands has a similar effect on the throat. Make the host as inhospitable as possible and maybe it'll prevent an infection.
      • pmoriarty 7y ago
        An itching throat is a symptom that comes from already being infected. It's not a sign that you're about to get infected. So trying to prevent an infection when you're already infected doesn't make any sense. Besides, there's no evidence that gargling with alcohol will prevent an infection either.
• Recursing 7y ago
  I'm really surprised there's 300 comments (with lots of panic) and nobody mentioned the official WHO guidelines https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2... especially the part about "How to cope with stress during 2019-nCoV outbreak"
  • kempbellt 7y ago
    Thank you for linking this. I commented below about doing what I am doing to not worry about it. Naturally it and was immediately dismissed by a panic induced response. FUD is extremely powerful people. If you want to stock up on some extra water and food - cool beans. But stay conscious of your own fears and manage your stress levels. Do what you can to stay calm about things and handle your emotions wisely.
    • JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
      While I recognize there might be a good number of people who experience FUD, I imagine there's another segment of people who couldn't be bothered. Procuring extra water and food for something that has a low likelihood of occurring (food and water insecurity stemming from COVID-19) sounds onerous.
      • mdavidn 7y ago
        It's more an isolation strategy than an actual shortage. If there is news of an outbreak in my immediate area, there will be a run on the grocery store, and they will sell out of items immediately in stock. I'd rather not stand in line, in close contact with strangers in my community, at that moment.
    • danudey 7y ago
      > If you want to stock up on some extra water and food - cool beans Honestly, more people should be doing this anyway. If you live in an earthquake zone and don't have an emergency preparedness kit, you're in trouble if significant infrastructure damage happens in an earthquake. Likewise for snowstorms, floods, power outages, etc. It's probably not going to happen, and it's probably not a big deal, but if there is an emergency at some point I don't want to have to tell my neighbours they're on their own for a week because we (minimally) prepared and they didn't.
• ChrisClark 7y ago
  We bought a bunch of extra food, food that we'll eat anyways. We don't want to have to deal with empty shelves later on because people are panicking.
• excellenter 7y ago
  1) Obtain prescription opioids in case I become fatally ill 2) Learn difficult social skills, such as refusing to help a sick neighbor 3) Consider buying an autoclave 4) Learn to cook with quinoa and lentils in case of a rice and bean shortage
• wbsun 7y ago
  - similar to preparing for an earthquake (in SF Bay Area): food, water, propane, gas cooker, first-aid. - dozens of N95 respirators, which may or may not help... - lots of mini hand sanitizers carried in cars, backpacks, jackets. - watching for local news. - avoid shopping in stores, started using Amazon fresh. - during weekends, take kids to outdoor state parks/recreation areas instead of museums, zoo, malls where have lots of people. - technically as software engineers both my wife and I can work from home, but we are still going to the office.
• dekalbcountyman 7y ago
  Ammo
• welder 7y ago
  I've been going to the airport shaking hands with everyone arriving from China and Italy. That way I'll get infected before everyone else and get first pick on hospital beds.
  • 29athrowaway 7y ago
    And once you get to the hospital bed there will be no effective treatment for you. And you will be quarantined in the hospital section with all the rest of the coronavirus patients, reinforcing your infection.
    • welder 7y ago
      I'll take those odds.
• honest_tovarich 7y ago
  https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/opinions/colleen-kraft-coronavirus-best-defense/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/opinions/colleen-kraft-corona... If you enjoy posting crap on the internet to make other people freak out, by all means go ahead, if you want to read a professional opinion, check the link. A very, very low effort troll this guy.
• theNJR 7y ago
  I’ve spent about $300 to prepare, that includes paying a lazy fee ordering some stuff off Amazon, and optimizing for things I’ll eat in April if this all blows over. Food and water: Added 25 gallons to my normal water delivery Protein bars, jerky, dehydrated cheese Peanuts, trail mix, peanut butter Big sack of rice (save for earthquake kit after April, don’t usually eat rice) Canned chili, canned stew, canned beans (Carry over to earthquake kit) Canned tuna All of this (sans water) is boxed and in a closet. Supplies: Already have plenty of n95s 9x12 plastic tarp Duct tape (specific for this use, not relying on the roll in the drawer) Bleach Extra soap and toilet paper Big thing of hand sanitizer (noticed a lot of out of stock on Amazon) I already have a significant medical kit. I’m mostly optimizing for people panicking and it becoming hard to get supplies for a week or two.
  • fludlight 7y ago
    Why the tarp and duct tape?
    • theNJR 7y ago
      If for some aggressive reason we have to seal windows, or seal off a room. It’s also just a nice general purpose thing to have.
  • watertom 7y ago
    You need to add Toilet paper to that list.
    • theNJR 7y ago
      It’s on that list :)
• 29athrowaway 7y ago
  - Use the proper type of mask. Wear the mask correctly. Some masks are effective only for a limited amount of time. - Cover your eyes. - Wash your hands. - Do not touch the area around your eyes, nose or mouth without washing your hands first.
• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• gdubs 7y ago
  It might sound trite — and maybe different info than you’re looking for — but I’ve been doing my best to get a good night’s sleep. And to continue to meditate daily. And to eat healthy. Reducing stress is — so I hear — good for the immune system.
• throwaway122378 7y ago
  Stupid question (or maybe not?) but theoretically speaking would someone who's willing to take the chance (~96%) benefit from intentionally contracting COVID now, while hospitals (in the US) are still no where near capacity, get treatment, recover and be immune?
  • gonational 7y ago
    14% of recovered cases in one area (South Korea, IIRC) have become infected again, and one analysis showed that re-infection may be worse than the first time. Sorry, I don’t have any citation for this, because it’s been days since I read it.
  • _bxg1 7y ago
    It would be pretty selfish because you'd become a potential source for other people to get infected
  • Tepix 7y ago
    I think it's smarter to try to get infected as late as possible. Chances are treatments are better.
• duxup 7y ago
  I'll admit I bought a few extra groceries on my last trip to the store.
• tosser 7y ago
  I purchased 4200 cans of an assortment of low sodium soup and vegetables, at a discounted lot rate (just under 90¢/ea). They range from 220 to 300 cal per can (so about 3-4 cans per day per person). If this all blows over, since these expire in about 20 months, I’ll just donate them to a dog shelter in the nearby ghetto. The dogs love that stuff.
• cipan 7y ago
  I live in HK, so we're already living through this. I've basically been working remotely. I haven't used public transport since CNY. We do not go out at all, unless it is necessary. The main concern is the mask shortage. We probably go through 4 masks a week, and we generally only go out twice a week right now strictly for the essentials. We will need to get more soon, or we will run out before April. Maintaining a high standard of hygiene is something people tend to do already in HK, but it's more important than ever right now. We thoroughly clean our flat every Saturday morning and wash hands whenever handling something unhygienic or just in general. As the virus can spread through waste water systems, we flush out unpumped drains as well. When buying products, we only use e-payment to avoid loose change. Most places have gloves in addition to masks, and have hand sanitizer, so there's no excuse to not use these things. HK does not have a large supply buffer due to the small spaces. If demand for a good spikes, places will run out quickly, and it generally takes 1-2 weeks for something to get back. So we also try to get as much as we need ahead of time, but space for storing lots of food here is limited.
• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• mister_hn 7y ago
  Not preparing at all. The virus is expanding just because of bad common sense from people who ignore the basic ABC of infections: stay at home if you're ill, do avoid meeting as much people as possible, but this seems to be hard to be understood by many
• sneak 7y ago
  I already maintain a 90+ day supply of food and medications and most consumables/supplies in my homes, as a matter of course. I took the lessons of the Battle of Berlin to heart. I also have a half dozen P99/P100 masks already, for the same reason. The only specific measure I am taking is stocking up on drinking water, my supplies of which fluctuate between 15 and 30 days as I consume it and periodically reorder. I am bumping that to 60 on the off chance that there is a major pandemic. I am one of the high-mortality-risk groups for any respiratory ailment (which is why I religiously get flu shots each year), so it’s entirely possible I will just stay home for a few weeks/months while I wait for any potential outbreak to blow over.
  • chewz 7y ago
    This is useless if you live in the city. All your supplies will be taken away from you by force if enough people becomes desperate.
    • sneak 7y ago
      I think the logical conclusion of your argument is that people in cities should not undertake any preparedness measures. I do not subscribe to that belief, and think it is an abdication of responsibility. It’s much more likely that I will need water/food due to supply interruptions than I will need water/food due to supply interruptions and also be subject to marauding gangs of thieves. Also, where I live in the winter, it is normal to have a non-trivial amount of weapons in one’s own home, and something like 50% of homes do, despite being a reasonably big city by local standards. I envision places like that to remain a lot calmer and more civilized longer than most other urban centers, where the means to keep order is a lot more centralized, and probably the first to abandon their posts in times of extreme crisis such as you allude to.
• chewz 7y ago
  Keep the gas tank full all the time. Escape the city before the lockdown - go to your summerhouse or your parents. Don't stay in the city. Break the lockdown if necessary. Food shortages and violence will come quickly. There is always oversupply of food in farmlands and shortages in cities. Keep some food supplies at hand (beans, rice, meat in the freezer). And some gold in small bars. Few weeks ago, before it all started I have purchased 50 ordinary masks, some surgical disinfector and also two military grade masks with biological weapon filters. But most important - keep up good spirits and wash your hands. My Mom prays.
• Dowwie 7y ago
  Sign up for the American Red Cross, disaster response. ARC is as organized as a volunteer-driven humanitarian organization can be. Once your family is secure, you can help others. Do not expect government to take care of basic needs. Federal, state, and municipal government can only do so much. Don't bother responding to me with your opinion about misappropriation of funds. I spent a month volunteering in Louisiana after Katrina, taking days off without pay. Volunteers are always in short supply. The ARC is a vital institution.
• sagebird 7y ago
  On the "don't stockpile" pleas: I think it is fine to stockpile before the crisis hits. We are in the stage where that information will affect investment, how manufactures allocate resources, etc. Basically they will respond with an early stockpile signal by producing more. So when the crisis hits, the supply will be greater. EG - I think we are still in a stage in US where stockpiling is adding more to the production signal than it is actively causing scarcity. Stockpiling for the purposes of reselling when the demand spikes doesn't strike me as evil either... It seems like a reasonable market solution for distributing items.
  • thorwasdfasdf 7y ago
    at my local sprouts grocery store they were out of some of the bulk section bins: 2 or 3 of them. But, the other 17 bins were still mostly full. So, I don't think the full panic has set in yet.
• oriel 7y ago
  I put together this doc (https://awesome-covid-19.github.io/ https://awesome-covid-19.github.io/) in response to 2mo of obsessing over the emerging virus and needing to share what I knew in the form of actionable items for the average person (re all my friends and coworkers freaking out on monday). Its intended to be a kind of emotional preparation as much as physical, and a lot of it is just priming and practicing awareness. If you see anything thats missing, needs updating/correction,etc please open a PR!
• tmaly 7y ago
  I was thinking about this thread and came up with a potential useful suggestion. We use our phones quite a bit. In hospitals, they are considered pretty dirty because the pick up a lot of germs. We do not always have the opportunity to wash hands and their is a good chance we transfer germs to our phones. I thought it might make sense to wipe the phone down at the end of the day with a chlorox wipe or rubbing alcohol. Then immediately wash your hands. Side note, I tend not to handle those wipes directly as the chemicals are not great for your skin.
• bchip 7y ago
  I am buying all the twinkies i can
• ksherlock 7y ago
  Corona can be spread by fecal contact so refrain from a2m, o-after-a, etc.
• webninja 7y ago
  Sleep more! There was some study that found that reducing your sleep from 9 hours to 5.5 hours reduces your immune system by 1/2. I don’t have a citation handy but whenever I got sick in college, it was usually during final exam weeks when I had to pull late nighters. Sleeping is the single best thing you can do for your immune system and your immune system is your last line of defense.