Dispatches from the Pacific Northwest of the US:
All friends in Seattle report it is a ghost town today. Friends in any jobs who can work from home at all have been instructed to do so, many for at least one month's time.
All up and down the region, and even into California, panic buying is reaching a true fever pitch. We have been well-stocked for some time, thanks to a well-timed order at a restaurant supply store (they often keep much more food on hand to restock with than a Costco, surprisingly -- or perhaps not, considering how much food restaurants need to buy at a time versus a regular shopper!).
The thing that has gone missing most completely in the stores is toilet paper, which is quickly becoming a running gag. While we've bought some extra, it wouldn't be enough to last us nearly as long as the rice, beans, pasta etc. that we've got as emergency rations. 90 days of TP seemed...like a mountain. Instead, we've stockpiled, additional to about a month of TP, several dozen white, bleachable terry cloth small washcloth-size towels at a cost of about 4 for $1, to be used as "reusable TP," bagged up and washed (with bleach) in the sanitize cycle of the washing machine. If the threat passes and it turns out not to be such a big deal that we ever use it, well, you can never have enough cleaning rags. We also got a few extra jugs of laundry detergent, since this plan would require a fair bit more laundry, and a supply of cloth diapers so we don't have to keep months' worth in the house.
Seattle is telling all people over 60, pregnant women (like me), and many other at-risk groups to stay home as much as possible until this is all over. "Until this is all over" could be months away. We are trying to stay very positive, especially around the children. My older child is fascinated by medicine and we have told him in a child-friendly, non-anxiety-provoking way that there's a new germ that people are getting sick from, and that we may have to stay in our home and garden while the scientists and doctors work very hard together to find a way to stop it from spreading.
We are very fortunate to work from home. Many family members, including several who are medical personnel, do not have this luxury. I expressed to one of those relatives my feelings of guilt over having the ability to stay home when so many people are simply needed out and about to keep society functioning, but she put my head on straight.
She did it by pointing out that in a situation like this, the fewer people that are out, the better. If the streets are 80% emptier than usual, it's that much easier to keep a 2m distance between each other, there are fewer germs on every elevator button and doorknob, and so on. The people who have the easiest time isolating are the ones who ought to be doing it first...it makes sense, but it doesn't totally assuage the guilt, IYSWIM.
The biggest thing we want to know is how long the virus can survive on surfaces! If it turned out that 3 days in the sunshine was enough to wipe out the coronavirus, we could take package deliveries in our side yard and just bring them in when the requisite time had passed. Harder, though not impossible, if we're talking about 10 days. I'm honestly dismayed that the shipping companies aren't equipping their drivers with the protective equipment they need to keep themselves safe. They should be given a medal and instead they're probably not even making overtime.