Only on mumsnet do people prep.

[Notlong20]

There is not one person I know in real life that is prepping for a coronavirus outbreak. In fact, no one I speak to even mentions the threat of the virus.

Of course we know of it as the hysteria surrounding it is all over the news / social media, but aibu to think preppers only exist on mumsnet?

DEDICATED!

Most of my family have things like torches, candles, etc in case of a power cut. I've kept a battery operated radio for the same reason as I live in an area prone to flooding. We had a power cut last night, 4 hrs. I was very glad of my wind up lanterns. All the other houses in our cul de sac were in darkness, ours looked relatively normal. I was listening to my little dab radio which was fully charged. Biggest faff was finding the kettle at the back of the cupboard to make a cuppa, obviously the electric one wasn't much use.

I also know which neighbour I will eat first based on their age and lifestyle. Is that prepping?

Only if you’ve also stockpiled the marinade and condiments.

Hard to imagine all the shops being completely empty to the point people are breaking into their neighbours homes to steal food to be honest! It isn't that hard to imagine, I worked in a supermarket in the 70s when we had shortages, sugar was one. Now we can all live without sugar but women were acting like drug addicts after a fix. Toilet rolls was another case of hysteria, you don't even eat them. Back then the supermarkets were rationing it, don't know if they would now. I remember home helps having to show their ID to get a loaf for the little old lady they were shopping for.

Personally I've increased my stash of chocolate. I don't want to have to fight for it but can't live without it.

From the news it sounds like the WHO are struggling to be heard as although they report that every day that people travel and / or meet in large groups increases infection rates, at exactly the same time the day that people pull back from work will impact the economy afterwards. Thus, the government will hold until the balance hits a critical point.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51665631

Hard to imagine all the shops being completely empty to the point people are breaking into their neighbours homes to steal food to be honest!

Have you watched blackout? That was based in London. It was about a cyber attack on the national grid and meant no electricity for a week. It was interesting to watch how fast the country went to shit.

I can't find it now, it was made my C4 but worth a watch if you can find it.

If you live in a rural area in bad weather it is not unusual to have roads blocked and supplies disrupted.
If you have very poorly children and are stuck at home you need to have some back up supplies.

It is the responsible thing to do to keep at least some basic provisions for a few days.
And surely it is a sliding scale?

If pushed who doesn't have an onion/pasta/cheese/ tuna fish/potatoes /milk/creeal to hand?
In effect anyone who thinks ahead is a "prepper" surely?

We're in Australia. We are prepping. We haven't mentioned it or told anyone.

The biggest threat of the corona virus is the media hype.

Do you really think what is happening in China is "media hype" speakout? What fucking disrespect to all those people risking everything to keep the virus contained.

Yes@speakout , it's all just a big con because everyone is bored.

Hand gel in Superdrug was all sold out in my local store on Monday!

A family member is an air hostess and she’s struggling to get hold of gloves, she’s getting a bit worried now.

Has a chat with a GP friend. I thought they'd be really dismissive of all the fuss surrounding the virus. In fact they're really worried.
As today was payday I had bought an extra £30 of 'shtf' food. It's all stuff we eat so won't be wasted.
BTW, who on earth has never heard of tinned hotdogs? Childhood staple they are

My GP friend is really worried too. And they weren’t worried by the SARS or Ebola outbreaks at all before.

However I have two relatives who are very high up in NHS and they’re not bothered in the slightest, continuing to merrily travel etc.
So it’s hard to know what to think!

People underestimate how quickly shops can empty of food, if there are restocking delays.

As for the inhumanity of not feeding your neighbours in an emergency food shortage, you can't expect the family next door to buy and store enough food for the entire neighbourhood. I could have enough food to feed my household for a month, but it would be gone in a day if everyone in the area came to me looking for a meal. I'm not preparing to feed everyone for a day; my goal is to feed my family for as long as it takes for normalcy to return. It's not a matter of not caring. It's about putting your own family first, and I don't care if that seems selfish.

Of course, the government has plans for feeding citizens in emergencies, and most likely even those won't have to be put into effect. But if putting a little extra food and other essentials aside gives some of us a sense of security, I don't see why anyone else should care. The more people who prepare in advance, the less strain on local resources if/when there is an emergency.

Can somebody define prepper please?

I have a stocked larder - enough for 5 people for 3-4 weeks. Heaps of tins / long life milk, pasta, rice etc.

My medicine cabinet is wellstocked. Large box of paracetemol, large box of ibuprofen.

I have purchased 5 masks. If we don't use them, they can be stored.

Plenty of batteries, pet food etc.

Am I a prepper?

I think of preppers as people who build secure compounds with food supplies (that would last years) weapons, livestock, fuel, generators etc.

I can't get too excited about buying a few extra tins. That in itself a nutter does not make.

We don't prep, but as DH likes to take advantage of every time Lidl send promotional "£5 off if you spend £40" type of offers, the practical effect is the same!!

It won’t be those who thought the world would end after Brexit, their cupboards are still heaving with tubs of dried Marvel milk and tins of Campbells meatballs.

Although I do the ordering of stationery and other goods at work and hand gel is like gold dust at our supplier.

@gamerchick - I saw that but TBH thought it was a bit naff but interesting underlying concepts. IIRC, a key takeaway for me was that prepping/ stores but you at grave risk of robbery (as happened) and violence as society broke down with alarming quickness

I bought some extra cupboard stuff with the last shop, stuff that will get used anyway (like pasta and chopped tomatoes), not because I'm overly worried about supplies but I thought it would make life easier if we did have to stay in for a while for whatever reason. I haven't bought anything we wouldn't eat normally, though, and it'll all get used regardless of whether we end up plague-ridden or not.

Having a well stocked larder is taking some responsibility for your family's needs when the shit hits the fan instead of just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best that our just in time supply chain will hold up while lots of the people in that chain are sick, under quarantine or looking after someone who is.

Does anyone know what the stock levels/sales areike for the supermarkets now?

I know hand gel is becoming more difficult to get hold of (although I'm sure advice is that soap and water is just as effective and more so for some bacteria?) Are shops finding sales of tinned goods/uht milk have gone through the roof?

It's funny that I'm seeing this thread today for the first time, when last night DH asked me to "buy more tinned food in the next tesco shop, lots of tomatoes and beans. We'll eat it anyway and we can keep it in the garage". I'd been wondering if I should but dismissed it as paranoia on my part... he's been quite worried about the spread of coronavirus, but then he works in a Japanese business and has seen some of the company's announcements to its global staff get more ominous.

Having had a read of this thread, I'm adding soap and toilet roll to the list!

How can antibacterial hand gel work on a virus? I did my nursing dissertation on hand gels vs soap and water.