Funny how the people who plan to isolate themselves expect everyone else to keep working.

[LucheroTena]

This.

People on here prepping to isolate themselves and their families. Taking kids out of school, not working. For how long, 18 months until a vaccine is available??

The same people expect others in the service sectors to keep working - supermarket workers, NHS staff and so on. Going on about getting all their shopping delivered and so on.

Some of the preppers / self isolators on other threads were berating NHS retirees for being worried about being asked return to work, and telling NHS nurses who were voicing worries about isolation and childcare that they should lose their jobs.

Selfish irrational weirdos. I don’t know anyone in real life like this but seems like there are dozens hiding away on here.

so healthy staff from all the restaurants/shops/theme parks which are closed can be redeployed.

Unbelievable.

"Prepping" doesn't necessarily mean locking yourself away.

Exactly. It's perfectly possible to live a relatively normal life for a short time by avoiding crowded public places and close contact, along with sensible hygiene precautions. Go shopping at quieter times (many supermarkets are open 24 hours). Temporarily stop going to cinemas/theatres/sporting events etc. Wipe your equipment at work, i.e. phones, mouses, computer screens, etc. Work at home more if you can. If you have to go to a workplace, put boundaries in place, i.e. no hand shakes/hugs, don't share finger food, spread out in meetings etc. Of course not everyone can do it all, but most people can do something. If everyone made small changes, then it would help avoid the spread and help protect the vulnerable.

It’s not dangerous to healthy people so the only reason to isolate is altruistic.

Not dangerous to them, no, but they'll be spreading it around, potentially to friends/family/neighbours who ARE at high risk.

Why are people complaining about people who can detach themselves from contact early doing so, then? It will have a benefit even now. The more people who can cut back on contact as early as possible, the better for those who have to carry on.

@nelladee I haven’t said that. It’s those of them planning to isolate until it’s over, while expecting everyone around them to carry on risking themselves. They quite cross when those at risk from endless commuting and public facing work say “what about me”. There were comments from preppers on the nurse thread suggesting medical personnel should be forced to work double hours. For example.

There are some very paranoid folk around on MN.

If people wish to quietly isolate themselves / their families then go ahead. But when those same people pop up bleating that part time health workers should be made to go full time, full timers work double time, berate retired HCP at risk from Covid for daring to draw a pension and not return to work, expect others to look after their sick family and friends, expect suppliers to replenish all the stock they’ve accumulated for themselves, keep their mains services running, maintain their mumsnet(!) that sticks in the craw a bit.

@tegucialpa13 re your DF becoming isolated. I live in Asia and volunteer for a charity that takes isolated older adults out. We've had to stop our charity work and I think this will have a negative effect on them, very sad.

'There were comments from preppers on the nurse thread suggesting medical personnel should be forced to work double hours. For example.' I am sorry that someone has said that, this does not represent my view. I believe that the virus will hit UK hard and mostly due to people carrying as normal. Any distancing and social isolation will benefit NHS as it would slow down the virus. Unfortunately, schools, soft play and any additional activities for children will be affected as they speed up the spreading of virus.

My apologies then. The title of this thread is very misleading.

Oh for christ sake! Are we living in the screen plot of 28 days/weeks later? It's a virus, some may develop it, many, many will not. Frankly unless you live on a desert island with an independent food and water source. Then yes, we can all 'self isolate', but it'll frankly do anyone fuck all good. Yes, yes we can all pull our kids out of school, and stop attending work, and jet wash our shopping with disinfectant when no one? delivers it... However, back in the real world unless you're like the folk who' really prep'. We're all as pretty fucked aren't we? It's like the old prepare for a nuclear bomb pamphlets... Build yourself a Fort under the kitchen table, and wait for your hair to drop out 🙄

But when those same people pop up bleating that part time health workers should be made to go full time, full timers work double time, berate retired HCP at risk from Covid for daring to draw a pension and not return to work, expect others to look after their sick family and friends, expect suppliers to replenish all the stock they’ve accumulated for themselves, keep their mains services running, maintain their mumsnet(!) that sticks in the craw a bit.
Those are just your everyday ignorant entitled selfish idiots.
These are not preppers.
How on earth do you equate someone who always has a buffer of food in case they need it for any reason with the stuff you said above?
Unless there are health issues preppers are carrying on as normal as possible not expecting others to take responsibility for them.
Some people are acting crazy talking of locking themselves away from now on expecting someone else to carry them while they do sfa but stop calling them preppers. Again thats the complete opposite of being prepared!

@Willow2017 this was coming from posters who are very active on the preppers threads. They fall within the paranoid no proportion spectrum of society, but they’re bloody irritating. The examples you’re mentioning are clearly not the people we are discussing.

You've taken the words of a small minority really hard for some reason and are really stressing out about it.

There's surely no need to berate preppers for having different views than you, obviously the majority wont have the extreme view that has triggered you anyway, and even if they do that is again an extreme view which is going to have an absolutely tiny proportion of the population.

If some of them are berating others for working or whatever it is that's grinding your gears.. who cares? Obviously the vast majority know that this is unfair and wrong.

I'm not a prepper btw although I would like to be more prepped in general!

Totally not stressed, you’re very condescending.

@cloudyvanilla. You’re the one sounding stressed!

This is the the thing isn't it. These people aren't preppers... their completely extreme. Things like this will always bring out the worst in a small number of people. I woke up with a bad head and neck pains. I deduced that as I am fast approaching middle age,have a shit mattress and may have finished the bottle of wine in the fridge that this is a mix of all of the above. Had a paracetamol, but on my rain jacket and headed out for the school run. Other people may have woken up, hit DR Google and convinced themselves that they had all the symptoms of head and neck cancer, googled life expectancy, treatment plans, and have already planned how to break the news of tragedy to friends and family. You are always going to get people who jump straight to doomsday mode, whether it be illness, viruses, terror attacks .. they only thing you can do its step back because nothing you say or how rational your argument will convince them otherwise because it's like a mix of anxiety, adrenaline and a touch of ghoullishness

...and will make their children into exact versions of themselves.

A certain amount of isolation is possible and useful in reducing spread. For example, any office staff who are able to work at home on a laptop - they reduce the crowding and exchange of virus particles on public transport. Holding meetings by Skype rather than travelling to conferences, that sort of thing - eminently sensible.
Similarly, high risk medical patients and frail old people might choose to have their shopping delivered, or avoid pubs, cinemas etc for a couple of months until the epidemic has passed its peak.
But for healthy adults to stay off essential work that can only be done at the workplace - no, that is selfish and unhelpful.

And just for the record after the school run I also went and got a sausage Mcmuffin as it was the only sensible thing to do

Fair enough but there are a few posters who frequent any prepper thread just to hurl abuse while at the same time saying that they will rely on the rest of the world to cater to their needs if they had to isolate themselves or family. They dont see a problem with that at all.

I agree with you OP, fwiw

But when I start getting angry about hypocrites on MN, it is usually a realisation for me that I have become too invested in MN and need to step back for a bit

I am prepared for having to isolate us if we get sick. I think it’s sensible to have food/supplies for a few weeks so you can minimise the possibility of hauling your infected ass round Tesco. Or exposing some delivery driver.
Other than that... what more is sensible? I have no idea. This thing’s going to run for months and months. Other then buying a shotgun, digging a well and rotivating the garden I’m not sure what more to do to be sensible.

@Sunshinesky1981

I like the cut of your jib!

I'm pretty active on the Prepper Topic. I'm a general prepper. I also contribute what I hope is sensible practical advice to people who are new to the whole idea and are unsure about what they should do.
Apart from picking up the odd bit that has a short shelf life that I like, cough medicine that I like to use if I have a cough or maybe stuff like cheap black plastic bags in large rolls to double bag tissues if I have to (as advised by formal government info on self isolation), I am pretty much already set.
I've been called fucking mental by a charmer on here. Or paranoid panic buyer. Which, given that I'm not buying anything much is pretty funny.
When, in the history of mankind, did stomping about telling people to calm down actually work?
We are all adults. I try to be optimistic about how this is going to play out but that doesn't mean I'm sticking my fingers in my ears singing la la la.