We Should Prepare For a US Outbreak of Coronavirus, Not Because We May Feel Personally at Risk, But So That We Can Help Lessen the Risk For Everyone. (scientificamerican.com) 363
Zeynep Tufekci, writing for Scientific American: Preparing for the almost inevitable global spread of this virus, now dubbed COVID-19, is one of the most pro-social, altruistic things you can do in response to potential disruptions of this kind. We should prepare, not because we may feel personally at risk, but so that we can help lessen the risk for everyone. We should prepare not because we are facing a doomsday scenario out of our control, but because we can alter every aspect of this risk we face as a society. That's right, you should prepare because your neighbors need you to prepare -- especially your elderly neighbors, your neighbors who work at hospitals, your neighbors with chronic illnesses, and your neighbors who may not have the means or the time to prepare because of lack of resources or time.
Prepper and survivalist subcultures are often associated with doomsday scenarios and extreme steps: people stocking and hoarding supplies, building bunkers and preparing to go off the grid so that they may survive some untold catastrophe, brandishish weapons to guard their compound while their less prepared neighbors perish. All this appears both extreme and selfish, and, to be honest, a little nutty -- just check the title of the TV series devoted to the subculture: Doomsday Preppers, implying, well, a doomsday and the few prepared individuals surviving in a war-of-all-against-all world. It also feels like a scam: there is no shortage of snake oil sellers who hope stoking such fears will make people buy more supplies: years' worth of ready-to-eat meals, bunker materials and a lot more stuff in various shades of camo. (The more camo the more doomsday feels, I guess!) The reality is that there is little point "preparing" for the most catastrophic scenarios some of these people envision. As a species, we live and die by our social world and our extensive infrastructure -- and there is no predicting what anybody needs in the face of total catastrophe. In contrast, the real crisis scenarios we're likely to encounter require cooperation and, crucially, "flattening the curve" of the crisis exactly so the more vulnerable can fare better, so that our infrastructure will be less stressed at any one time.
Prepper and survivalist subcultures are often associated with doomsday scenarios and extreme steps: people stocking and hoarding supplies, building bunkers and preparing to go off the grid so that they may survive some untold catastrophe, brandishish weapons to guard their compound while their less prepared neighbors perish. All this appears both extreme and selfish, and, to be honest, a little nutty -- just check the title of the TV series devoted to the subculture: Doomsday Preppers, implying, well, a doomsday and the few prepared individuals surviving in a war-of-all-against-all world. It also feels like a scam: there is no shortage of snake oil sellers who hope stoking such fears will make people buy more supplies: years' worth of ready-to-eat meals, bunker materials and a lot more stuff in various shades of camo. (The more camo the more doomsday feels, I guess!) The reality is that there is little point "preparing" for the most catastrophic scenarios some of these people envision. As a species, we live and die by our social world and our extensive infrastructure -- and there is no predicting what anybody needs in the face of total catastrophe. In contrast, the real crisis scenarios we're likely to encounter require cooperation and, crucially, "flattening the curve" of the crisis exactly so the more vulnerable can fare better, so that our infrastructure will be less stressed at any one time.
Making up for lost time (Score:5, Insightful)
It's looking increasingly likely that the Olympics will be cancelled this year and many conferences and other events have already been cancelled. I'm looking forwared to a music festival this summer, but honestly expect it won't go forward.
Japan just cancelled all school for month. Let that sink in for a minute.
I've been slowly stockpiling food for the last month or so, in preparation for the sort of home confinements that have accompanied this virus around the world.
I'd rather not be stuck in a long line of possibly infected just trying to pick up some grub. Best case scenario I eat cheaply for a couple months and save some money. Worst case scenario I can skip the panic buying season and just get what I need online or when things calm down.
The US is intentionally not testing for COVID - 19 right not. There is community transmission in California and likely other places.
One last thing to motivate you to stock up - the time between first major outbreak and home quarantine combined with a run on the supermarket is typically less than a week.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Insightful)
Not to worry, the researchers have been gagged and a politician (Pence) has been put in charge. Replicating China's politically motivated response is sure to be successful.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Interesting)
It's looking increasingly likely that the Olympics will be cancelled this year
Why? If we make it to July and the disease isn't contained, then it will have already become endemic, and there will be no point in staying home. Maybe you'll get sick, but you might have gotten sick at home, too.
It's not a zombie outbreak, it's just another flu.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Insightful)
Containment chances are already near zero.
The point of staying home is to keep the spread as slow as possible so as not to overwhelm the hospitals. For every one that dies, more than one is saved by care. If the care system is swamped, deaths multiply.
It's not "just" another flu. Yes, flu-like though possibly better at spreading. But with a death rate that appears to be 5-10x as high and no pre-existing immunity, the US could be looking at a 70% infection (around 200 million) that could result in over a million dead by this time next year within this country. Slowing it down could push some of that million beyond availability of a partially effective vaccine sometime in 2021.
Re: Making up for lost time (Score:2)
Isn't the point of slowing down the spread also to 1) try to give them more time to develop, test and mass produce a vaccine, 2) make it to the summer when these things spread more anyway, and 3) have it hit after the pressures on medical services of the normal flu season have abated?
we may not get a vaccine (Score:4, Informative)
I think we are fucked on a vaccine. Recent information is really starting to support the possibility that this virus was bio-engineered. I will post a link at the end.
Unlike every other coronavirus to date, including SARS, this virus does not bind to the ACE2 receptor protein this was how SARS was contained. ACE2 does not exist in large quantities in humans. It is actually higher in asians and the region than European genetic decent. This virus instead binds to the enzyme furin. This is what makes HIV and Ebola so difficult to contain and target.
There have also been documented cases where someone previously infected with COVID-19, testing positive again a month later. They are getting re-infected. That means there is no immunity to this virus or the immunity will be spotty. Each subsequent infection will weaken you more, based on another article I read a couple weeks ago. Something about people that were reinfected dying of heart failure.
Here is the link on gene mutation.
https://www.scmp.com/news/chin... [scmp.com]
Re:we may not get a vaccine (Score:4, Insightful)
"Recent information is really starting to support the possibility that this virus was bio-engineered. I will post a link at the end."
Absolutely nothing in the link you posted supports the frankly daft hypothesis that this was bio-engineered.
Re:we may not get a vaccine (Score:5, Interesting)
This is what makes HIV and Ebola so difficult to contain and target.
If this is coming from the sources you read, get better sources.
What makes HIV difficult to "contain and target" is the extremely high mutation rate of the proteins that make up its envelope.
What makes Ebola difficult to "contain and target" is the unknown reserve population - It has to live in some animal in Africa but not kill that anmial, and we don't know what that animal is so we can't take steps to isolate or exterminate the reserve population (think mosquito control to reduce malaria exposure). Currently bats are the best guess, but it's not proven yet.
Also, testing positive again is not necessarily a re-infection. I test positive for the chicken pox virus. I was infected when I was 5, and it's extremely unlikely just got re-infected.
Virology is much more complicated that the "it's a bioweapon!!!" articles imply.
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It's not "just" another flu. Yes, flu-like though possibly better at spreading. But with a death rate that appears to be 5-10x as high and no pre-existing immunity, the US could be looking at a 70% infection (around 200 million) that could result in over a million dead by this time next year within this country.
I heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN medical correspondent) ask Trump about COVID-19 at his India press conference. Gupta mentioned that mortality rates with regular flu is about 0.1%, whereas COVID-19 is looking like 2% to 3% at this point. So, more like 20 to 30 times as high. Trump, true to form, disputed what an expert was telling him.
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Influenza mortality rate is around 0.05%...
COVID-19 seems to be about 2.3% percent, but the largest number of cases are in China. They are not giving out a large number of details regarding infection and mortality rates.
I wouldn't listen to CNN trash when the barest facts are available to you too.
What Trump said was basically we have some of the best medical sources in the world and congress is working with him to ensure they have funding. They are going to do what it takes to do what they need to do.
That
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:5, Insightful)
They're only in charge of protecting 300,000,000 people and coordinating response with the governments of the other seven billion. That shouldn't take more than half a dozen staffers and a couple of interns, right?
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Trump thought ebola was important enough [businessinsider.com] to employ far worse behavior in 2014. So is it "needless and accusatory" or is cutting ebola response a sign that "something seriously wrong with President [Trump's] mental health"?
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Insightful)
They used needless and accusatory behavior
Nope, Mr. Long Form doesn't get to not get accusatory behavior. Mr. Turn Tail and pass the ball to the VP doesn't get to duck out of this thing. Mr. Everyone is fake news unless they are completely loyal to me doesn't get to just take a pass on all of this. Trump is doing his damnedest to wash his hands of this shit. He deserves every single thing hurled at him plus a thousand fold more on top of it. That coward is bowing out and pointing at Pence the pray away the gay to be the fall man for when shit goes south. No, every single person in DC needs to drag his ass through eighteen miles of mud while being pelted with rocks all along the way. Trump is trying to fucking cover from running off every single person that knew what to do in the last three years should something like this happen. Trump create a White House of people that are strictly loyal to him at the expense of experience. Trump built his fucking house of cards and he deserves every single bit of ridicule for how flimsy this administration is.
Fuck Trump and his weak ass attempts to pass the buck. Republicans and Democrats alike should be shaming him on an almost minute by minute basis. Fuck your boy in the White House.
Instead Chuck and Nancy saw a potential opportunity to score some cheap political points and slam the president for yet another thing
Nah. They haven't done nearly enough. I would rather they heap it on about twenty more fold. If anything, I see it as them being quite restraint. Trump's a goddamn coward when shit has actually hit the fan. Fuck him. Shit is real and about to get out of hand and the President did that thing on TV on Wednesday and it was just a fucking shit show. Once I watched that, I knew, we are literally fucked. Like if we had someone actually responsible at the wheel, we'd stand a chance, because this shit, it ain't that bad. But nah, we got the methed out drunk motherfucker at the wheel. That's whole TV thing hammered that whole point home. Standing there with like five fucking TVs behind him and he decides to just randomly hold up pieces of paper. The whole fucking presentation look like they fucking prepared it five minutes before he walked through the door. No, fuck that woefully prepared coward.
They chose to try and grab a minor political score rather than help the nation --or-- they don't believe this is a serious threat and they just want YOU to panic
No, I don't need Congress to panic, the President is doing quite well on that end. Here's VP to take charge. Get the fuck out of here with that coward ass bullshit. He should have just said it. Here's the VP to take the fall when thousands die. You know what, you go vote for your boy come November, you go get him back in office. You have fun pushing that button for a bona-fide chicken shit.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Informative)
Oh please, enough of the outrage. You seem to think that the GOP wouldn't do the EXACT SAME THING if the roles were reversed?
Oh wait, they did:
https://www.reuters.com/articl... [reuters.com]
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Which is actually what I said both sides of aisle do this crap. The Trumps previous judgement good or ill regarding CDC funding isn't at issues. Chuck and Nancy were specifically addressing his immediate response proposal. If they had wanted to make a argument boarder support for CDC and pandemic preparedness they could have but they did not do that.
Why didn't they do that? Because those are long complex arguments that don't make a good sound bite. So instead they reacted to the current ask. They
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:5, Informative)
Trump literally fired the people at the NSC responsible for planning for and managing pandemic responses, and never replaced them.
The Obama administration created equipment stockpiles and trained people to respond to pandemics. And the Trump administration sold off the stockpiles and ended the training.
Trump absolutely, positively made this situation far worse and far more dangerous. And no amount of tone policing from you changes that fact.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Insightful)
Never thought I'd see a president dumber than Reagan. Then I never imagined they'd elect one dumber even than Shrub. Fucking hell. I'm horrified thinking what the next Republican president is going to be like.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
H.L. Mencken
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But with a death rate that appears to be 5-10x as high and no pre-existing immunity,
This isn't exactly clear yet. The death rate is dropping as more cases are found.
Those not ill enough to seek medical care were not counted initially. Stronger surveillance is catching more of those, and we seem to be moving towards roughly a flu-like death rate.
Which isn't nothing, but it's also not as bad as it could be.
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It all depends upon which country you are in. I am certain that Australia will have very few problems coping. People will go to the doctor at first hint of infection limiting spread, universal health care will mean treatment is prompt and complete and likely there will be very little disruption, apart from lots of rich Americans likely to try to hide out in Australia. This due to the USA porous southern border and loads of refugees on the other side and less the complete Mexican health care and this tied to
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A quick google search shows Australia has less than 2000 ICU beds in 26 total units. Roughly 60,000 total hospital beds. For a population of 24 million.
Exactly zero rich Americans will be fleeing to Australia to hide from the virus.
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But at least everyone gets their operations, instead of the rich getting theirs now and the poor never.
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Re: Making up for lost time (Score:5, Informative)
Wait times are pretty short here, actually, unless it's non critical or elective treatments. Even then it's pretty reasonable at a couple weeks tops.
Re: Making up for lost time (Score:5, Informative)
Firstly women are never released too early after pregnancy. Our post natal morbidity rates are among the best in the world.
Secondly, you can pay for private insurance here, in which case wait times are essentially zero. The public system is a safety net so that people don't die from easily treatable conditions.
Finally, our CSIRO contributes it's fair share to global research. E.g., they are testing a coronavirus vaccine already. I know Americans like to think the whole world owes its existence to them, but we're all perfectly capable of getting shit done too.
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Plus the US' move to more isolationist attitudes is reducing their influence on the world. Russia and China are loving this as it is allowing them to foster relationships as the US thumbs its nose at former allies
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Our spending on healthcare includes research which NIH, NSF etc have a budget equal to the next 25 countries science research combined (which includes China, UK, Australia etc). Our spending on healthcare also gets you the best outcomes for cancer treatment, heart problems and a ton of other diseases.
The stats from the OECD show no major differences between private insurance spending including voluntary spending when comparing the top 20 countries. We spend about as much as Aussies on private health insuran
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...the USA porous southern border and loads of refugees on the other side and less the complete Mexican health care and this tied to significant pockets of poverty in the US where the contagion will fester and spread into surrounding areas. The EU faces a similar problem from across the Mediterranean...
So by your scenario in the US and the EU, coronavirus hands nationalism another win.
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It all depends upon which country you are in. I am certain that Australia will have very few problems coping. People will go to the doctor at first hint of infection limiting spread
Hmm, I'm not sure you've thought that through. The last thing you want in an infection control scenario is people going to the doctor's surgery. That's what spreads the infection (and often amongst the people least able to deal with it). You want people to stay at home. Have you not noticed how it's been healthcare professionals who have been "responsible" for big jumps in confirmed cases in a variety of countries?
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Just yesterday I sneered at someone who was berating people over "it's just another flu.". I said I never heard anyone actually say that...
Thanks dude, I'm so glad you came along.
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It's looking increasingly likely that the Olympics will be cancelled this year
I'll take a pandemic every 2 years to kill the olympics permanently.
Re:Making up for lost time (Score:4, Interesting)
The US is intentionally not testing for COVID - 19 right not. There is community transmission in California and likely other places.
From what I've been reading, it's not that they're not testing for it, it's that there aren't enough test kits available and only 7 state and local health departments have the ability to screen for the virus [reuters.com].
California only has 200 test kits for both diagnostic and surveillance purposes [latimes.com]. Hardly enough to test all 8,400 people they're currently monitoring [reuters.com] for the virus.
And it's not helping that some of the test kits are producing inconclusive results [nytimes.com].
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Oh boy, is the US going to see martial law, quarantines and curfews right when the elections begin?
Don't worry. I'm sure they will let the Right people out to vote.
Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:5, Insightful)
Prepper priorities are around self sufficiency. Preppers are not stopping others from preparing. In fact they would prefer if others also prepared.
What's selfish is people who fail to prepare and then expect others to take care of them.
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Re:Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:4, Insightful)
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To be self sufficient they need to be able to grow their own food etc. Not just stockpile canned food and other supplies that aren't renewable.
My local People's Neighborhood Committee (aka HOA) won't allow gardening for food, just flowers. I would enjoy the irony of an apocalyptic situation in which I could steal their canned supplies with my firearm and hoard of ammo.
Re: Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:2)
Re:Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:5, Insightful)
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I believe you've confused the term 'preppers' with 'bandits'. One easy to remember clue, 'preppers' comes from the word 'prepare' as in 'readiness'.
YW HIH
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There aren't going to be any "camps" because in this situation, large groups of people are to be avoided rather than encouraged. What's more likely to happen is a period of increased social isolation as people retreat to interacting with the world through their devices.
Re:Nothing selfish about preppers (Score:5, Funny)
Thank god we have been preparing for this for the better part of the past three decades already!
Maybe we should (Score:2)
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there is a 0.6 correlation (which is very very high for social sciences)
That's because social sciences are willing to accept correlations that are statistically meaningless. That's how we got studies that show gays are X (where X is whatever bad thing).
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and make the coronavirus pay for it?
I'm prepared (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm relatively healthy, eat decently, work out enough to not be a total blob, I have a ton of sick days I can take, I'm pretty good at staying hydrated, and I wash my hands often.
That's it. Done. Prepared for COVIS-19. There is literally nothing else I can do.
It's a bad flu if you're old, and an easy cold if you're young. Masks won't keep you from getting it, hand sanitizer only works in the lab, and unless you're willing to bug out to your survival cabin in Montana, you're probably going to get it and be fine.
Unless you're 65+, preparing for an outbreak means going about your life like normal.
Re:I'm prepared (Score:4, Insightful)
When the quarantine orders come slamming down on you, do you have enough food stockpiled to get through? In China, the word came down and no one was allowed to leave their home, not even to go shopping for food. Not that there would be anything available at the stores anyway, since their employees and the trucks coming into the city were shutdown too.
Re:I'm prepared (Score:5, Informative)
Today a 23 year old Iranian female soccer player died from it [alarabiya.net], so younger/healthier people aren't necessarily out of the woods.
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I like how you put the word healthy in quotes. I'd say the dead doctors in China were worked to death. The virus was probably just cleaning up the remains, so to speak.
Your boss is calling .... (Score:3)
he needs you to come in on Saturday,... and Sunday.
So best of luck with those sick days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Hmm...I'm guessing with the virus hitting and all, it MIGHT be a bit of a difficult period to be able to get out and look and interview for a new job, you know/
Likely you're stuck with what you have currently, or no job at all.
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Re:I'm prepared (Score:5, Funny)
Don't worry, Slashdotters have been practicing avoiding contact with other people for decades, no coronavirus needed.
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Pneumonia can get the best of them, but that isn't the point of preparing.
See, if a massive outbreak happens it can disrupt everyday life and well really everyone else will freak out around you. It doesn't take much for your local stores to run dry.
You don't have to go out today and buy perishables that you won't use, but it doesn't hurt to pad your cupboard. At the very worst, you have purchased some things that will last and won't go to waste.
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Or have a weak immune system like mine. :(
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It's a bad flu if you're old, and an easy cold if you're young.
That's not at all clear. 20% of all cases need medical intervention, and this is roughly as contagious as the flu. It's not that any particular case is likely to be lethal which makes this a threat. What makes it a threat is the potential to overburden our medical system and cause it to begin to fail. The risk here is communal. The solution is equally so (presuming a vaccine can be developed quickly). We need to try to contain it immediately, or things may get very problematic. Nothing's simple with this si
There's only one thing that can save you... (Score:2, Funny)
...and He doesn't care about your ammo.
Actually He does (Score:2)
He doesn't care about your ammo.
As the old saying goes - Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
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Praise the Lord, we're on a mighty mission
All aboard, we're not a-goin' fishin'
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we'll all stay free
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Please, Chuck Norris jokes are so early 2000s.
Of course we are going to have to deal with this! (Score:5, Insightful)
Look... how long as this been in the news? Since the beginning of the year right?
The only thing Covid-19 has taught us is the following..
Governments do not care... until the economy is hurt.
Which is funny because it is exactly the fear of the economy being damaged that causes governments to downplay the risks leading to far more fucking damage than would have happened if procedures had been taken.
People... they don't give a shit neither. You can blame it on multiple things.
You can blame it on Businesses that do not give people sick leave.
You can blame it on people that still go to work sick... even when they have sick leave.
You can blame it on people that just do not give a single fucking fuck about fuck.
Put all of that together in a world where you can travel to 7 different locations in the world in a week while you are not even showing symptoms?
Well we do not have a chance... and never had one. We are watching the beginning stages of a pandemic unfold and watching governments try to minimize the impact by lying to people and trying to control information to stave off panic when they are only going to ensure greater panic later. It is so damn typical of people to create the very problems they want to prevent. It's the pinnacle of irony.
Re:Of course we are going to have to deal with thi (Score:4, Interesting)
Put all of that together in a world where you can travel to 7 different locations in the world in a week while you are not even showing symptoms?
Airplane tickets are really really cheap right now, too. Good time to book a flight.
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Some nations could have stopped a lot. But they had to be seen as open.
Ideas for protection from Coronavirus? (Score:3)
Americans should prepare for Coronavirus crisis in U.S., CDC says. [nbcnews.com]
Coronavirus far more likely than SARS to bond to human cells due to HIV-like mutation, scientists say. [scmp.com]
Ideas:
Avoid being near other people.
Stay away from hospitals and other medical care facilities!
Don't go to an airport.
Get groceries from a restaurant supply store (Smart FoodService here) rather than a grocery store (WinCo here)? Why? Fewer people.
Stay away from groups of people.
Avoid going to stores?
If very serious in your city, stay away from the library?
Stay home where the air is clean.
Check on the house air flow system. Use an excellent air filter. Check if the filter is completely sealed.
Order more house air flow filters.
Wash our hands a lot.
Have plenty of every kind of food at home.
More ideas? Do you have any more ideas for protecting ourselves from the Coronavirus?
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More ideas? Do you have any more ideas for protecting ourselves from the Coronavirus?
Rule #2 : Double Tap
This is the way, but question is how to prepare... (Score:3)
I totally agree with the idea we should all be prepared, generally for any random event so that we can be self-sufficient for some time and take away burden from emergency responders.
So then they question is, how do you prepare for some particular near term event that you know specifics of?
For something like a large scale viral outbreak for example, it seems very unlikely that basic services will go down - so probably water/power would stay up. That right off the bat eliminates a lot of stuff you might buy for something like a hurricane.
More a problem would be food if distribution starts to slow down or break, so just try to stock up with things you can easily get in bulk, like rice, or maybe even those 15 day emergency meal packs (which you should try one of after you get them to make sure you can even tolerate to eat them).
Basically just anything you can do, in the event that it would be possible to minimize going anywhere and thus reducing exposure to any viruses. Keep cars gassed up, get extras of most things you use frequently.
Also just a great thing to do generally, spend some time trying to break any habit of touching your face with your hands when out doing things. Or at least be conscious of doing so, which means later you'll have more control over what is normally an automatic action that can infect you.
prepping not doomsday prepping (Score:5, Insightful)
Having enough food in the house to feed your family for a couple of weeks is generally a good idea. Buy a couple of extra cans of this and that when they are on sale, then rotate them in your pantry using the oldest first. You can slowly build up a cushion without panic buying or blowing the budget. Make sure that you have batteries\toilet paper\basic first aid supplies, once again, stock up when they are on sale. If you have an emergency generator, test it according to the manufacturers instructions. You might want to invest in a small solar powered charger to keep your cellphone working. It's not that hard to do and it is a reasonable thing to do. Just like having an evacuation plan if you live on a flood zone, a hurricane zone, or near potentially hazardous site (petrochemical plants come to mind), basic stuff that most of us can do. No it won't save you during an apocalypse, but it will probably make riding out the smaller stuff a lot more pleasant.
This is getting weirdly indoctrinating (Score:2)
Preparing for the almost inevitable global spread of this virus, now dubbed COVID-19, is one of the most pro-social, altruistic things you can do in response to potential disruptions of this kind.
This is getting weird and out of hand. I understand that people get freaked out about diseases, but this is insane to drum up worry and hysteria for career advancement or profiteering opportunities. Fuck corona. I don't give a shit about corona. Anyone falling into this trap of horror-hype can stay in the trap.
Priorities (Score:5, Insightful)
How about better worker rights for sick days? Because after you can’t afford a $3200 test there is no way you’re gonna get fired for not showing up on time so you suck it up and head to that retail or food service job.
People need to learn that the “fk you got mine” attitude blows up in everyone’s face and we ALL wind up paying massive costs down the road just to avoid the most basic social services.
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Re: Priorities (Score:5, Informative)
The UK is working on this. Three weeks ago they had 12 labs capable of testing 1,000 people per day. No doubt they'll be ramping this up further. And the testing is free at the point of delivery due to the wonders of something called the National Health Service.
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To just walk in randomly? Hell no, they're actively advising that if you suspect you have the virus, GO NOWHERE and instead call your doctor.
Not sure about what exactly happens at that point, but probably someone comes to you to do the test, because the VERY LAST THING you want to do is send everyone potentially infected to a main gathering place for everyone who's sick.
"The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives..." (Score:3)
As a prepper, the most important thing you can have on your side, isn't food or water or ammo. It's people. It's the crazy loner living in a bunker that'll die when the shit hits the fan. People can rebuild a community and help each other survive a lot better than a pile of ammo.
And if you want them to take care of you, you have to take care of them too. That behooves you to think of others. Not is doing so the moral and decent thing to do, it's also happens to be the correct thing to do from the viewpoint of enlightened self-interest.
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Using a van, a truck to gather all that "care" going house to house..
You should prep because it is easy (Score:5, Informative)
Very simple shopping list for Coronavirus:
-rice, canned goods (veggies, legumes, soup, meat, etc), frozen foods
-extra toilet paper, shaving/shower supplies, dish soap, cleanings supplies, etc
-insure gas in your car stays topped off
There, you're set for Coronavirus, have stuff you can use even if nothing happens, and most importantly if there is a problem you aren't outside during the panic phase of the disaster where people are driving store to store like maniacs and brawling over the last can of beans. It's also a bit altruistic: you won't be using what limited remaining supplies are available to the public, since you have your own, leaving more for everyone else.
If you overbuy and Coronavirus has fizzled out, donate the extra food to a 'feed the homeless' program.
P.S. If you want to be ready for other disasters like storms, power outages, and Flint, MI, add in:
-solar powered phone charger
-fire extinguisher
-a $30 camping stove (and butane or propane as required). Note: open a window if using this indoors so you don't die of CO poisoning
-Jugs of water and Brita filters
-some form of weapon in case it's serious enough that there's rioting and looting
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News: "There's talk of a blizzard...and maybe a hurricane later."
You: !!!
You're now prepared.
How do I profit of this? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm an American, not a Samaritan.
I feel there's a profit to be made here....
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I had an idea (Score:5, Funny)
Prepare some sort of official-looking signage/banner with hazard tape to put on the outside of your house, advising to stay away due to quarantined hazardous occupants. Then, if looting starts, you can put that on your house to try to discourage people from approaching.
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At the end of WW II, women in Berlin used makeup to create fake smallpox spots, in hope of avoiding rape by Russians.
Fear and money (Score:2)
We're good (Score:5, Funny)
Pence prayed for us.
What will happen to the millions of uninsured? (Score:2)
So if you are gonna prevent a virus outbreak in the US, what do you plan to do with the potential millions of uninsured who could contract the virus? I wonder what the Pence plan is...
HAHAHA (Score:4, Insightful)
Looking at the attitude of the US for healthcare of being "Fuck You I got mine", this won't happen
Yeah, that's so gonna work (Score:5, Insightful)
Especially in a country with the creed of "Screw you, I got mine" and "I do what I want and if it kills you, sucks to be you".
Charles Dickens called.... (Score:3)
if you can't afford what private companies charge for treatment or vaccine, then fuck off and die.
How uncharacteristic Mr. Scrooge, you forgot to add "...and decrease the surplus population".
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Unfortunately the poor have that unbecoming tendency to not just shut up and die peacefully, when they feel they're about to die but could just kill you to avoid this, they just might take the risk of doing just that.
Unpleasant buggers, I know.
Re:Not interested in survival (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if Coronavirus doesn't kill everyone, the world will be very different afterwards. It is basically the end of the world as we know it
What are you talking about? In the worst case, it will be like 9/11 except instead of spending trillions to fight terrorists, we will spend billions to fight disease. Not that bad.
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I'd rather not survive this apocalypse. I don't want to live in the post-apocalyptic world. Even if Coronavirus doesn't kill everyone, the world will be very different afterwards. It is basically the end of the world as we know it and I don't intend to be part of what comes after.
Get a grip, man, the 1918 Spanish Influenza had about the same mortality rate (2-ish%) and about all it did was put the brakes on WW1, not end the world as people knew it.
Amazing! (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought the bar had been set so low that it couldn't get any lower, but kudos to you, that is the single most ridiculous thing I have seen associated with this new flu. This is not the apocalypse, its not going to be the Black Death, or even the 1918 Spanish flu. In a normal year *36000* people die of the flu in the USA. That's a rather appalling number, but not an existential threat. If the Wuhan flu kills 10X that many, or 100x that many - still appalling, but still not an existential threat.
The only real threat is people panicking and overreacting, and making stupid life-altering decisions about it.
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Dafuq? What do you think this is, the Grand Zombie Outbreak?
It's a BAD FLU, nothing more. Mortality rate is estimated around 2%, mainly focusing on those already compromised for other reasons (bad immune system, other illnesses, old age etc.).
The only reason you keep hearing about it is because someone got scared when it started and the whole thing went, sorry for the choice of words, viral.
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So kill yourself. Your weakness is as despicable as your ignorance.