Coronavirus prep

snowflake954 · March 2020

It's hard with all the uncertainty to not fall apart, but pull yourself together. There are people depending on you. You can only do what you can. At least in this modern age you can stay closely in touch with far flung family and friends. This is very hard to plan for, and a lot will depend on the government and their actions. We had decrees that came out in the middle of the night. We are going further into debt to support businesses and workers. Families will get help also. The health system that is on overload will get an infusion of capital. You will find things changing for you also. Do your best--no one can ask more.

Sorry I forgot to hit quote--this is for ReenieHJ

amtyrell · March 2020

If it is a nice day where you are can I encourage you all to get outside even if just to your yard or local park. I am not sure and the evidence is not in for covid-19 but Vitamin D in normal get some sun every day levels been shown to help immune system fight off other viruses. Also a bit of fresh air and exercise helps with anxiety, depression. So yeah get outside if at all possible at least 20 minutes a day.

pinuplove · March 2020

amtyrell wrote: »

If it is a nice day where you are can I encourage you all to get outside even if just to your yard or local park. I am not sure and the evidence is not in for covid-19 but Vitamin D in normal get some sun every day levels been shown to help immune system fight off other viruses. Also a bit of fresh air and exercise helps with anxiety, depression. So yeah get outside if at all possible at least 20 minutes a day.

80% chance of rain here every day between now and Friday

Netflix and Vit D supplements it is!

snickerscharlie · March 2020

bmeadows380 wrote: »

hmmm. a post I put up an hour ago never appeared here. My luck, it'll show up tomorrow and be repeated 6 times.....

pi day, but I didn't have any pie ;(

I was in McDonald's today and was just wondering if they would go to drive thru only. I would be behind that - they could focus on the kitchen and prep areas and not have to worry about constantly trying to keep the lobby clean, and they would be limiting the number of people the crew would be exposed to. That particular McDonald's actually did that last summer during their remodel, as did the local Arby's, so the precedent and procedures are there for it.

I think that's a great idea.

I wonder if they would allow pedestrians in the drive-through? Because otherwise *someone's* gonna get their panties in a twist about it being discriminatory to the car-less.

pinuplove · March 2020

snickerscharlie wrote: »

bmeadows380 wrote: »

hmmm. a post I put up an hour ago never appeared here. My luck, it'll show up tomorrow and be repeated 6 times.....

pi day, but I didn't have any pie ;(

I was in McDonald's today and was just wondering if they would go to drive thru only. I would be behind that - they could focus on the kitchen and prep areas and not have to worry about constantly trying to keep the lobby clean, and they would be limiting the number of people the crew would be exposed to. That particular McDonald's actually did that last summer during their remodel, as did the local Arby's, so the precedent and procedures are there for it.

I think that's a great idea.

I wonder if they would allow pedestrians in the drive-through? Because otherwise *someone's* gonna get their panties in a twist about it being discriminatory to the car-less.

Good point. Maybe carry out only? Pedestrians in the drive-thru seems like a recipe for disaster.

bmeadows380 · March 2020

pinuplove wrote: »

snickerscharlie wrote: »

bmeadows380 wrote: »

hmmm. a post I put up an hour ago never appeared here. My luck, it'll show up tomorrow and be repeated 6 times.....

pi day, but I didn't have any pie ;(

I was in McDonald's today and was just wondering if they would go to drive thru only. I would be behind that - they could focus on the kitchen and prep areas and not have to worry about constantly trying to keep the lobby clean, and they would be limiting the number of people the crew would be exposed to. That particular McDonald's actually did that last summer during their remodel, as did the local Arby's, so the precedent and procedures are there for it.

I think that's a great idea.

I wonder if they would allow pedestrians in the drive-through? Because otherwise *someone's* gonna get their panties in a twist about it being discriminatory to the car-less.

Good point. Maybe carry out only? Pedestrians in the drive-thru seems like a recipe for disaster.

for those restaurants who have two drive through signs, I supposed they could mark the outer one for pedestrians, and then direct them to walk to the closest door for pickup.....

But it doesn't matter what they do, someone is going to get their knickers in a knot - whether they stay open, don't stay open, be drive through only, etc lol

Just like I was going to say that with mobile ordering now a thing, they could direct foot traffic to order through the app and pick up at the door, but then there'd be all those people who don't have the app, don't have smart phones, or don't have internet access (which is actually a pretty big thing where I live - cell service is very spotty, and decent, reliable internet access is only available to a fraction of people)

pink_mint · March 2020

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I belong to an international online group for "Elder Orphans": People over 55 living alone, with no spouse, partner, children, parents, siblings - at least not any close enough (geographically or emotionally) or able to be a support systems.

We have a number of issues that those with families don't (health care power of attorney, will and estate issues, even logistical stuff like making it to outpatient surgery if there's no one to drive us there and wait while the surgery happens, as many medical facilities now require; and much more).

I'm not whining at all, just describing; mostly, this is manageable. It's just non-standard.

In one of the local branches of my "Elder Orphan" group, a nurse/member is setting up pairs of people (who ask for this) to get each other's contact information, and commit to check in daily or on some other agreed basis, with instructions between the two of them about what to do if that contact can't be made.

This group includes people so isolated that they have few/no real-life relationships (sometimes because reasons ). But of course there are similar people without even online connections.

@AnnPT77 I never knew something like this existed. I am married and have young children. However my extended family is both small and a sad, fractured, alienated mess.

Husband's family has issues too. There are most definitely reasons (birds of a feather flocked together in our case, part of why we hit it off initially). Having a good spouse is definitely a source of support. But raising young children with zero extended family support... you have more energy going out than coming in.

I wonder if there is something like this for me. I'm 40 so maybe not in the required age range for that group.

It's times like this that a support system or lack of is something you really start to feel.

cmriverside · March 2020

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Nice, not

https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-risk-of-reinfection-2020-2

I had been hearing and reading statements from medical authorities saying they hoped, based on other viruses, that those who recover from covid 19 would have immunity for some period of time, but that so far they didn't have any idea how long that immunity might last. Lay questioners on talk shows seemed to assume that it was a question of whether immunity would last for just a few years (like vaccines that you need boosters for) or for essentially your whole life. but I noticed the experts' responses didn't seem to commit to even "a few years." I guess they were right.

ETA: on the other hand, from the article PAV8888 posted, it appears they've only seen one case of presumed reinfection so far, and it's not clear that this individual ever tested negative. just that they were discharged from the hospital after "showing signs of recovery." I don't know how they decide whether it's a (so-far) rare case of reinfection, or a (rare?) case of an individual who has remained infected for a long time without fully recovering, just going through ups and downs as their body fights the disease.

EATA: Unlike the headline and the paraphrasing by the writer, the actual quotes from medical experts in the story PAV8888 linked seem to be speaking about relapse, not reinfection from another individual.

Thanks for posting this...I feel the same way about the scare-mongering "news" articles but I'm tired and when I started posting a rebuttal to that, "You will re-catch it!!!!!!!!" article I was so tired yesterday...you said it all. That article was badly written and had zero science behind the known facts we have about how virus immunity works.

@MikePfirrman
Maybe you missed Just Em (moderator) who came in on the last page telling us to keep politics out of this.

I'm going to make an attempt today to not get into the "discussion" about it. Seattle continues to be scared. I have enough food and TP for a month.

Yeah. I need to stay out of this thread.

snowflake954 · March 2020

cmriverside wrote: »

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Nice, not

https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-risk-of-reinfection-2020-2

I had been hearing and reading statements from medical authorities saying they hoped, based on other viruses, that those who recover from covid 19 would have immunity for some period of time, but that so far they didn't have any idea how long that immunity might last. Lay questioners on talk shows seemed to assume that it was a question of whether immunity would last for just a few years (like vaccines that you need boosters for) or for essentially your whole life. but I noticed the experts' responses didn't seem to commit to even "a few years." I guess they were right.

ETA: on the other hand, from the article PAV8888 posted, it appears they've only seen one case of presumed reinfection so far, and it's not clear that this individual ever tested negative. just that they were discharged from the hospital after "showing signs of recovery." I don't know how they decide whether it's a (so-far) rare case of reinfection, or a (rare?) case of an individual who has remained infected for a long time without fully recovering, just going through ups and downs as their body fights the disease.

EATA: Unlike the headline and the paraphrasing by the writer, the actual quotes from medical experts in the story PAV8888 linked seem to be speaking about relapse, not reinfection from another individual.

Thanks for posting this...I feel the same way about the scare-mongering "news" articles but I'm tired and when I started posting a rebuttal to that, "You will re-catch it!!!!!!!!" article I was so tired yesterday...you said it all. That article was badly written and had zero science behind the known facts we have about how virus immunity works.

@MikePfirrman
Maybe you missed Just Em (moderator) who came in on the last page telling us to keep politics out of this.

I'm going to make an attempt today to not get into the "discussion" about it. Seattle continues to be scared. I have enough food and TP for a month. I live alone and if I die and no one knows, meh - lots of people have big families and still die alone. I am not sure what that comment was supposed to be about. "Oh, I have lots of people - too bad for those poor people if you die alone." Yeah. You might drive off the highway and not be found for two weeks.

Stay in your lane. We all die alone.

Yeah. I need to stay out of this thread.

I agree with EM that politics will lock this thread and should be avoided. However, we have to dance around it somehow because the decisions from "up top" and how quickly they move and adapt will have great effect on the spread of the virus. I would just like to say that I am older--65, and when I was still in the States over 30 years ago I can remember a word called "bipartisan" used to work together when we were under threat. Maybe we could ask our leaders to dust that old fashioned word off and use it right now. Gets off soapbox and slinks back into Italian quarantine........

bmeadows380 · March 2020

pink_mint wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I belong to an international online group for "Elder Orphans": People over 55 living alone, with no spouse, partner, children, parents, siblings - at least not any close enough (geographically or emotionally) or able to be a support systems.

We have a number of issues that those with families don't (health care power of attorney, will and estate issues, even logistical stuff like making it to outpatient surgery if there's no one to drive us there and wait while the surgery happens, as many medical facilities now require; and much more).

I'm not whining at all, just describing; mostly, this is manageable. It's just non-standard.

In one of the local branches of my "Elder Orphan" group, a nurse/member is setting up pairs of people (who ask for this) to get each other's contact information, and commit to check in daily or on some other agreed basis, with instructions between the two of them about what to do if that contact can't be made.

This group includes people so isolated that they have few/no real-life relationships (sometimes because reasons ). But of course there are similar people without even online connections.

@AnnPT77 I never knew something like this existed. I am married and have young children. However my extended family is both small and a sad, fractured, alienated mess.

Husband's family has issues too. There are most definitely reasons (birds of a feather flocked together in our case, part of why we hit it off initially). Having a good spouse is definitely a source of support. But raising young children with zero extended family support... you have more energy going out than coming in.

I wonder if there is something like this for me. I'm 40 so maybe not in the required age range for that group.

It's times like this that a support system or lack of is something you really start to feel.

I didn't know such things existed, either, but would really be interested in knowing if such a group was something that is available in my state. Right now my parents are right across the road with my sister, but they are getting on in years, aren't the best of health, and my sister is completely unreliable. My brother is about 1 hour's drive away, but I don't know if I could depend on him, either. I have acquaintances, but very few that I'd consider close enough to call for help, and my church is made up of a lot of older people.

I'm also thinking of my best friend; I'm her only point of contact for help. She is not close to her brothers, and the one brother that she would be willing to work with is a couple of states away and has his own problems and wouldn't be able to come if she needed him.

I do think about the future as a single person with little family, no spouse, and no children, what I will do if I get in the shape I can't easily care for myself any longer. I hope I will be like my grandparents - my dad's parents are in their late 80's/90's and still living at home and independent, as is my mom's 81 year old grandmother, but I also know I can't depend on being able to be like that if I get to their age.

cmriverside · March 2020

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

slimgirljo15 wrote: »

I can't help but wonder about the single people with no family or close friends to check on them, in self isolation who get sick.. laying in bed progressively getting worse.. may die there with nobody to know

Sorry, sad thought I know

As one of those people, I'm OK with that thought (for myself, anyway). I would call for an ambulance if I started having difficulty breathing. I telecommute, and a telecommuting colleague I email scores of times every day who lives nearby has promised to come over if I stop responding and pull me out when the corpse-barrow rolls by. ("But I'm not dead yet!").

We were talking about apocalypse movies and books...in the U.S. Monty Python In Search of the Holy Grail is on Netflix - I'm watching that today!!

fitlulu4150 · March 2020

@Snowflake954, I'm so sorry Italy is suffering so badly with this. I appreciate your posts from there and commend you for sticking with us here at MFP and for being an honest information gatherer. Passing on what you know and have learned is invaluable. I fear we here in the US are still on the upward swing of this thing and perhaps some of us are much more aware of the dangers facing us because of the warnings you are giving us. It's time for all us to focus on what we can do regardless of what the Federal Government is saying and doing.

Yesterday my husband and I, 72 and 70, decided that even though we are at lower risk because of our general good health (although he is slightly more at risk than I) we would adhere to the general consensus that we should just stay home unless it is essential we leave the house. We run a small business here in So Cal and will continue to ship product and go to the post office and bank only as financially necessary. We are going out for a few supplies here and there, but no big shopping trips or waiting in lines. We are not eating out at all or attending any social functions. We had a family gathering scheduled for Easter weekend which we have cancelled and that includes some flights for family members. I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow which I will keep as I've waited 3 months for it but I will take extra precautions while there. We believe it is our responsibility to not spread the virus or take up precious medical resources that others will need more than we might.

@psychgrrl, thanks for the well wishes re our daughter.

She was tested Friday at a drive thru testing site in SF. She tested negative for COVID-19 (thank goodness). Her doctor has instructed her to stay home while she is ill and perhaps beyond in the hopes she won't be exposed, especially since she is already sick and her lungs are compromised from 40 years of asthma. They may re-test her in the weeks to come. Her boss delivered a laptop and a few essential supplies to their apartment on Friday so she will be able to work from home until things improve. Her husband is legally blind and relies on her for transportation, grocery shopping and other essentials things that are difficult for him so she needs to continue with some of those things but only as necessary. He's a lawyer and will be going to work 2 days but staying home the other 3.

With the help of a neighbor and some online shopping they were able to stock some essentials so should be fine for a couple of weeks. They were unable to find TP, hand soap and hand sanitizers, so we sent them what we had and I made our own sanitizer and saved enough of our TP supply so we don't temporarily run out. She was able to get the last 3 canister case of sanitizing wipes delivered from their local Costco. She thinks these are important since her husband is still working with the public.

Anyway, that's what's happening in our neck of the woods. I'm feeling confident that my husband and I will not become ill for now, but I do think that eventually most of us will contract the virus. Maybe by then we'll know more and be better prepared to take care of everyone. Perhaps even a treatment or some sort of vaccine will be available who knows?

Stay safe and well!

Maxxitt · March 2020

I started "buying ahead" staples a few weeks ago and so by the time this week's frenzy started we were in pretty good shape. My husband had a stroke last weekend (is home from the hospital and doing really well) so my focus now really is on staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible. This means that I am not planning to go out much and will avoid making any grocery runs at peak hours. I think that once the stocking up frenzy is over, this will be easier.

My city In Wisconsin, US is taking "social distancing" very seriously and various neighborhood groups have loosely organized so that folks can help each other out with errands, food, childcare and even cash as needed. This kind of community vs. individual focus is great ... it not only is beneficial in the larger social sense, it provides individuals with a way of being useful, which helps keep the panic down.

The # of confirmed cases has been steadily rising, and I expect that as testing becomes more widely available there will be an exponential increase. I expect the curve to continue rising for another 6-8 weeks, hopefully not sharply, and then begin to fall - if other countries' experience holds true here. An area of research that I am looking at is the stuff coming out on "virus shed" windows, or the # of days a person is still able to pass the virus on once they have recovered in terms of symptoms. I find stuff like this very interesting. As the data come out and reasonable conclusions can be drawn, it will help guide people who are in the most vulnerable populations to plan how long to be "careful" about moving around in the general population. The Lancet is my source for this info. Preliminary data from China suggests that the "shedding" window is the longest in patients who have been the most severely ill, which makes total sense.

acpgee · March 2020

If people are being confronted with empty supermarket shelves, I notice that in London at least, hoarding behaviour hasn't hit the asian grocer's yet. I've been to two this week and they were both well stocked.

earlnabby · March 2020

acpgee wrote: »

If people are being confronted with empty supermarket shelves, I notice that in London at least, hoarding behaviour hasn't hit the asian grocer's yet. I've been to two this week and they were both well stocked.

Around here the "mass market" grocery stores were hit first and hard. The smaller "mom and pop" and ethnic ones were not hit very hard at all.

pjwrt · March 2020

Washington state representing.

I'm old, so I've stopped playing around with my diet. Baked chicken (the dirty bird, yes, I know) three times a week, eggs and bacon twice a week. Lots of potatoes and veggies, as always. A gallon of water a day.

Basically, loading up on traditional protein and keeping my calories to under 2400. When this crisis is over, I'll go back to screwing with my diet.

I usually go to the YMCA to use their cardio in the winter--I have a home weight room--but that's out. I'll survive this cold snap without cardio and then hit the bicycle trails twice as hard.

My neighbors always laughed at me and my healthy habits, but who is laughing now! HA!

lemurcat2 · March 2020

earlnabby wrote: »

acpgee wrote: »

If people are being confronted with empty supermarket shelves, I notice that in London at least, hoarding behaviour hasn't hit the asian grocer's yet. I've been to two this week and they were both well stocked.

Around here the "mass market" grocery stores were hit first and hard. The smaller "mom and pop" and ethnic ones were not hit very hard at all.

Same here, from what I've seen. My neighborhood meat market (which has a full range of foods) was normal on Friday.

pjwrt · March 2020

NicbPNW wrote: »

I'm in Washington state, pretty close to the confirmed cases and yes, I'm a tad worried. Not in a panic, but being cautious. I have little kids and have asthma myself so I don't want any of us catching ANYTHING that could land us in the hospital.

I'm wondering why is everyone stockpiling toilet paper?!?! That is selling out as quick as water around here!

I read that it is a herd-type panic thing. Like chickens flocking together and running thing.

Athijade · March 2020

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

We are actually sick (but I know what you mean). I'm not sure if we're at higher risk of more severe viral symptoms or not, but I imagine the potential for a prolonged worsening of ME symptoms, even with a non-severe case, is high. I've only recently gotten back to a level of 'wellness' that, if I don't recover any further, I'm okay with, I bloody well refuse to be set back. So I totally get you on the wanting to be able to continue to eat well thing. I guess squeeze as much frozen vege into that wee freezer as you can?

I'm glad I don't have to deal with the level of crazy panic other countries are seeing $:\$

I was able to get my hands on some frozen veggies so right now I have 2.5 bags of broccoli, .5 bag of diced peas and carrots, 1 bag of cauliflower, 1 bag of broccoli and cauliflower mix, 1 bag of sliced carrots, and 1 bag of a broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix. Each bag can last me a few meals. I have some frozen fruit, but not much and it will mostly get used up in oatmeal this week for breakfast. I also froze a loaf of bread and some sauteed mushrooms so they wouldn't go bad. I have a chicken to roast tonight that will feed me all week for dinners. I have plenty of food and will be okay even if I do get sick, plus I have family and friends who I know will help out any way they can.

My anxiety just makes it hard to handle a change to my schedule (as does my OCD). I am doing the best I can right now and thankfully was able to get an early refill of my meds. I do worry about getting this virus and then having a flare up of my CFS. There is no way I can miss THAT much work.

snowflake954 · March 2020

Athijade wrote: »

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

We are actually sick (but I know what you mean). I'm not sure if we're at higher risk of more severe viral symptoms or not, but I imagine the potential for a prolonged worsening of ME symptoms, even with a non-severe case, is high. I've only recently gotten back to a level of 'wellness' that, if I don't recover any further, I'm okay with, I bloody well refuse to be set back. So I totally get you on the wanting to be able to continue to eat well thing. I guess squeeze as much frozen vege into that wee freezer as you can?

I'm glad I don't have to deal with the level of crazy panic other countries are seeing $:\$

I was able to get my hands on some frozen veggies so right now I have 2.5 bags of broccoli, .5 bag of diced peas and carrots, 1 bag of cauliflower, 1 bag of broccoli and cauliflower mix, 1 bag of sliced carrots, and 1 bag of a broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix. Each bag can last me a few meals. I have some frozen fruit, but not much and it will mostly get used up in oatmeal this week for breakfast. I also froze a loaf of bread and some sauteed mushrooms so they wouldn't go bad. I have a chicken to roast tonight that will feed me all week for dinners. I have plenty of food and will be okay even if I do get sick, plus I have family and friends who I know will help out any way they can.

My anxiety just makes it hard to handle a change to my schedule (as does my OCD). I am doing the best I can right now and thankfully was able to get an early refill of my meds. I do worry about getting this virus and then having a flare up of my CFS. There is no way I can miss THAT much work.

I know this is hard for a lot of people. Just take things a day at a time and you'll be fine. It just takes some organizing and you're doing what you can. Do you have a mask? They will be impossible to find and if you absolutely need to go out you should have one. Here in Italy it's impossible to find them and the Chinese experts that arrived the other day say that they see too many people without. You've done your best--you can do no more.

Coronavirus prep

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