Here are some actual documents on preparing for an influenza pandemic that the CDC is repurposing to prepare people for the coronavirus because of the similarity to the spread of the flu.<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/pandemic-preparedness-resources.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/pandemic-prepa...</a><p>States will have their own influenza preparedness plans that they will probably be following for the coronavirus as well.<p>One helpful thing that they advise governors to advise individuals to do is to store up food and enough (but not more than enough) medications.<p><a href="https://www.nga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pandemic-Influenza-Primer.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.nga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pandemic-Infl...</a><p>One thing to note is that a lot of the slowing down of disease spreading is going to be from the voluntary efforts of individuals. We should prepare ourselves and help prepare people around us to know what's up and what to do if you think you may be sick.
It's looking like Coronavirus will be rocket fuel for all things remote. Work, schooling, conferences... I think we'll see a lot of new tools and processes emerge. More companies, schools, conferences being remote friendly.<p>Anyone seeing concrete signs of this at your employer or school yet? And what other second-order effects do you think we'll see?
I'm glad some people are starting to take this more seriously. We're still at least a few weeks away from a shift in mentality in the US. Right now, it's general apathy. Next, it'll be alert and preparedness. Last, it will be panic. I don't think it will reach chaos, but you certainly don't want to be at Costco in a few weeks.<p>There's no downside in being prepared - worst case scenario you slowly consume the perishables or donate them. In related news, Zoom's stock is surging. I wonder if Slack's stock will eventually have a similar boom.
So I see this information from the CDC and news outlets, but the head of the World Health Organization seems to be saying something quite different:<p><i>“For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death.”</i><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/who-tries-to-calm-talk-of-pandemic-says-the-word-does-not-fit-the-facts/" rel="nofollow">https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/who-tries-to-calm-ta...</a>
I'm lucky enough to work remotely so if schools do close, I can still earn a living while the kids are at home. I can't even imagine what kind of hell it's going to bring parents if schools shut down for any extended period of time.<p>Same thing with small businesses - shutting them down is really going to hurt local economies. In my city, small business are about to shut down because of construction on a main stretch of road where people would ordinarily find parking. With no parking spaces, the businesses are on the verge of collapsing due to lack of customers. A shut-down due to this virus would really be catastrophic.
A good COVID-19 preparedness guide that is regularly updated and aimed at the general population:<p><a href="https://theprepared.com/wuhan-coronavirus/" rel="nofollow">https://theprepared.com/wuhan-coronavirus/</a>
I'm advising everyone in my circle to prepare for a 30 to 45 day at-home stay and assume no stores will be open during that time. I think this is the prudent thing to do.<p>I would also advise speaking to your neighbors to make them aware of the need to be prepared. To that point, buy a little extra of everything --well, maybe food only-- so you can help a few people out during what is likely to be a difficult time. Happy neighbors are as important to safety as anything else.<p>I'm actually thinking of making a preparedness checklist and going door-to-door around the neighborhood to hand them out.
Basically every household should already have, regardless of the origin of the disaster: 1 month of clean drinking water or reliable (tested) filtration devices and a impure water source (local streams likely to have various bacteria that will make you sick). 1 month of food that requires minimum water and fuel to cook (quick oats > slow cook oats). Enough fuel to cook that food (most of your food should not require cooking). A reliable camping stove that you have already tested. Plenty of ways to start a fire/stove. Warm clothes, blankets, med kit, sleeping bags. Soap.<p>I've lived for 30 days in alaska on a glacier with only what I could carry in a large pack; water and fuel were the largest by weight, sleeping bag/tent/clothes were the largest by volume. By the end, campers had devolved into small groups of people who didn't share food.
Not sure if this is the right place but what would be best for one stock up on ahead of time? I'm thinking non-perishables or stuff with a high shelf life but what else should you consider buying?
We are witnessing a massive geopolitical event. This could be a chance for the U.S. to reassert it's global hegemony - China has been brought to its knees over this virus, and a critical weakness of globalism has been exposed, the dependence that comes with offshoring too much production. This could drive the return of manufacturing jobs to the U.S.<p>Rumors abound in China about party members openly criticizing the government, including a petition signed by 2500 academics and professionals demanding free speech. Iran is also in full blown crisis after seeing its first case only 3 weeks ago. Two of the U.S.'s primary enemies are in "wartime conditions" dealing with 2019-ncov.<p>This is not just another flu. This is not SARS of MERS, this is well into Spanish Flu territory and it will test the modern geopolitical establishment and the resilience of human government. At the very least it will define a generation.<p>Edit: check the CDC's Twitter. They've suggested that individuals ,including with families, start preparing "across all sectors" saying "disruption to everyday life might be severe". The steady stream of silent downvotes I've been receiving for a few days is a testament to how far people are willing to go to deny unpleasant realities. This is why there are panics and bank runs and why the stores will be empty in cities across the U.S. in the next week or so. It's already happening in Italy.
Know what’s worse than this virus? Panic.<p>This shit is no deadlier than the regular flu. If you’re not 80+ or have a bad health you’re fine.<p>They need to fire these officials.
The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no?<p>27% of people in the US can’t even afford a $400 emergency expense, which is (generously) the cost of maybe one visit to verify illness or moderate symptoms.