Prepping for pandemic...

[wheresmymojo]

I was quite blasé about the novel corona virus outbreak but things I've read today have changed my mind.

I'm not usually a prepper but best things to stock up on for a pandemic?

Surgical face masks?
Latex gloves?
Anti bac wipes and hand wash?

@nemophilist, not really.

I think top of the scale is “open the gin darling”. Should destroy lipid envelope and quiet rising panic in one fell swoop.

We had the hypothetical “when to impose self quarantine” conversation last night and didn’t come up with an answer.

When there are 30 UK cases? 300? 3000? What are other people’s thoughts?

It has been reported that not enough testing kits are available so the true numbers are not available.

bookofJudith

Tricky isn't it. DS2 (12) asked me about it yesterday and whilst I assured him everything would be fine I did find myself wondering at what stage I would be keeping him off school..

Two weeks before 3000 probably, for a month to 6 weeks while two or three rounds of infection work through.

What we need to know is how long are people infectious after recovery?

Honestly? England authorities are obsessed with school at all costs, so government will be reacting too late. Making the decision to self quarantine will be very difficult.

ahem, I mentioned to DH last night that I am considering hiring some kind of RV motorhome, stocking it up and disappearing into the wilds of Scotland where there are no people for a couple of months until it all dies down, is this a crazy idea????

DSis and her husband are both teachers. DBil is in a senior management role (Deputy head of a large school). They have already had internal discussions in each of their schools about potential closures and how to manage them and both schools have had information circulated to teachers about being on alert for signs, trying to encourage children to wash their hands frequently etc.

That sounds like a great idea, virus or not 😀

ahem, I mentioned to DH last night that I am considering hiring some kind of RV motorhome, stocking it up and disappearing into the wilds of Scotland where there are no people for a couple of months until it all dies down, is this a crazy idea????blush

I have to admit I had a thought about the stage at which I would ask my cleaner not to come to the house. Obviously it directly affects her livelihood but..

That was for OnAFreightTrainToCrazyTown

You may find you are unwelcome wherever you go if it all goes really bad. but a holiday for so long would be great.

Stocking up your home and staying in may be the best option. Lots of resources already there. Difficult to know. Depends how bad it will get. It would be difficult to stock up everything you need in a van.

I mentioned to DH last night that I am considering hiring some kind of RV motorhome, stocking it up and disappearing into the wilds

Renting them is ruinously expensive. Buy a secondhand one and sell it when your done, if you survive. Also buy a diesel heater for the back of the van - you'll freeze otherwise. And make sure it has a decent electrical system with solar panels.

It's a type of cold virus and they are developing a vaccine which should be available within the year.

Stop being a drama queen

I like the plan to see it out in a mobile home!

I panicked a bit last week and bought masks and some more gloves. Am less worried now though as it seems to be spreading rapidly, but mortality rates seem relatively low.

The idea of an RV sounds great but where are you going to stock all of your provisions and water without having to go out frequently to replenish? We own a touring caravan and there really isn’t much storage options in there. You would need a massive trailer to trawl along all of your tinned goods and bottles of water. I’d rather stay locked in our home tbh, I’m going to stock up on more tinned goods and water today, my health anxiety is in absolute overdrive, trying hardest not to pass it onto the kids!

I have underlying health conditions, of course I am worried.

Have you looked through the list.NO deaths outside China

Health conditions and anxiety and I’m worried too.
One thing that’s helping is trying to rationalise that in this day of social media there is so much out there not to be trusted

In one way we hear about things a lot quicker but so much should be discredited for now

Even 12 years ago we would have been getting a much more reduced news presence on an outbreak like this

Have you looked through the list.NO deaths outside China

We are only 10 days in. We don't know yet whether there will be sustained person to person transmission and deaths outside of China.

There are people in intensive care in other countries. It is easier to keep people alive when there are few patients. It also takes time for people to become severely ill and most of the cases outside China are very recent.

Let's hope of course that everyone recovers.

In an RV you are going to need lots of water, water purification system, fuel for heat and driving, food for those two months, plenty of clothing to keep warm. How are you going to wash and keep clean. Cook? Keep dry? Keep in touch with the outside world? Would you need saws? Tools etc? Where would you store your food? How would you prevent everything getting damp?

My worry is there are not going to be enough ICU beds in an already overstretched NHS

The thing is OnAFreightTrainToCrazyTown ; bugging out in an RV is not going to address that concern really. You actually presumably put yourself more at risk, out alone in the wilds with limited supplies and inadequate shelter.

Bugging in would remain my favoured response to a UK pandemic event over bugging out - much easier to store more supplies, can turn your front hallway into an “airlock” style zone; use another room for quarantine if necessary. You’re also much more likely to know the local area for how you can nip out to find more food/water if needed. Can also bring all blankets/duvets into one room to preserve warmth if needed, use lanterns etc for lighting, storage for way more food & water... an RV doesn’t give you nearly enough flexibility or space over your own home.

I was very surprised that the government website tells people infected with the virus to get a friend to take their kids to school . Why not just keep them away from school until the family know they're not carriers, or am I missing something