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Preppers

Prepping for pandemic...

977 replies

wheresmymojo · 26/01/2020 13:46

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?

OP posts:
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wheresmymojo · 02/02/2020 11:30

@RevolutionofourTime Thanks, that is a great comfort actually as DH's business would have to be closed (gym) and I'm a self employed contractor so even if I was working wouldn't get paid time for a pandemic (whether just on lockdown or ill)

Am contacting an insurance broker tomorrow to purchase Accident & Health insurance with a policy that doesn't exclude pandemics.

If anyone doesn't have good sick pay with work you might want to think about this. I suspect (not sure) that the policies would be worded such that if you took it out after an epidemic was declared in the UK you wouldn't be covered for it (or else everyone would take it out as soon as an epidemic was declared and they'd go bankrupt).

Can always do it for a few months and then cancel once the risk has passed...

OP posts:
teta · 02/02/2020 11:33

Science - " Mining Corona virus Genomes........."

Interesting article on the possible origin of this virus. It's worth reading for those who are interested.

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 02/02/2020 11:39

I am somewhat sceptical about the "came from animals" idea, and I don't think it's out of the realms of reality that it was man-made and accidentally released. We have had coronaviruses in cats and dogs for as long as I can remember (canine coronavirus causes mild diarrhoea, feline coronavirus causes Feline Infectious Peritonitis). They are not zoonotic, and seem rather stable viruses to me, compared to flu viruses which mutate readily.
I'm also a little concerned at the immediate reactions of China (Although I'm glad they are being so strict, but it isn't really like them to my mind, unless it was more serious than they are making out)
During the bird flu outbreak, the Chinese (I think) refused to let anyone from WHO in, and they had to send under cover agents in to get samples surreptitiously, pretending to be tourists. I wonder what is happening behind closed doors

KundaliniRising · 02/02/2020 11:52

From the sixthtone.com link posted up thread,

www.sixthtone.com/news/1005112/coronavirus-latest-updates

Feb. 2, 2020

Novel Coronavirus: 304 Dead in China, First Death Reported Abroad

At least 45 people in China died of the novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the death toll in the country to 304, according to official data.

A 44-year-old Chinese man also died Saturday in the Philippines, becoming the first novel coronavirus casualty outside China, according to media reports. The man had traveled with his partner — the Philippines’ first confirmed coronavirus case — from Wuhan on Jan. 21.

As of Sunday morning, there had been 14,380 confirmed coronavirus infections in China, with 2,110 patients in “severe condition,” the National Health Commission said. There are now nearly 20,000 suspected cases in the country.

A total of 328 people have made full recoveries after becoming infected, according to the commission. Some 163,844 close contacts of infected people have been identified so far, with around 137,594 of them under medical observation.

As of Saturday, 9,074 cases of novel coronavirus had been reported in the central Hubei province, including 4,109 in Wuhan, where the outbreak originated. An additional 1,002 cases have been identified in Huanggang, some 75 kilometers east of Wuhan, which has the second most cases of any city.

Outside the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan have reported 30 cases in total. Globally, at least 140 cases have been reported in around two dozen countries.

Cities Enforce Rules for Keeping Residents Homebound

Authorities in at least two Chinese cities are taking drastic action to keep residents indoors and reduce the risk of infection.

To “minimize the flow of people, control the spread of the epidemic to the greatest extent, and ensure the life and health of the people,” the city of Wenzhou in the eastern Zhejiang province has, since Saturday, required households to designate just one person who may go outside and purchase any essential items, such as groceries.

Until Feb. 8, anyone else is forbidden from leaving their home except to receive medical treatment or for other extenuating circumstances, city authorities said.

As of Saturday, 661 cases of pneumonia had been reported in Zhejiang, with Wenzhou having the most such patients of any city in the province. Similar movement restrictions have also been imposed in Huanggang, the city in Hubei province with the most coronavirus infections after Wuhan.

Fecal-Oral Transmission of Coronavirus Confirmed

The novel coronavirus can infect people through fecal-oral transmission, in addition to air droplets and close contact, according to new research from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

On Saturday, Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital in the southern Guangdong province revealed that it had detected the 2019-nCoV nucleic acid in the feces of some pneumonia patients.

The novel coronavirus was also found in the feces of the first case confirmed in the United States, according to Bloomberg.

Feb. 1, 2020

Novel Coronavirus: 259 Dead, Nearly 12,000 Infected in China

At least 46 people in China died of the novel coronavirus on Friday as the death toll in the country climbed to 259, according to official data.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, there have been 11,791 confirmed cases, with 1,795 of them in “severe condition,” the National Health Commission said. There are currently 17,988 suspected cases in the country.

A total of 243 people have fully recovered after becoming infected, according to the commission. Some 136,987 close contacts of infected individuals have been identified so far, and 118,478 of them are under medical observation.

Outside of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan have reported 29 cases in total. New cases have been confirmed in Russia and the U.K., giving at least 127 confirmed cases in 23 countries other than China.

‘Rumormonger’ Doctor Who Raised the Alarm Says He Has Coronavirus

A doctor in Wuhan who was one of the eight whistleblowers police reprimanded in early January for “spreading rumors” about a mysterious pneumonia has become infected with the coronavirus that causes it.
“Today’s nucleic acid (novel coronavirus) test came back positive,” Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, wrote Saturday morning on his Weibo microblog.

On Dec. 30, Li had examined the medical report of a patient whose condition seemed strikingly similar to SARS, also caused by a coronavirus. He decided to share this discovery with his former medical school classmates so that they might take appropriate precautions. In their class WeChat group, he sent a message that read: “Seven cases of SARS confirmed.”

“After I sent the message, the police found me and made me sign an official letter of criticism,” Li recounted in a Weibo post. According to a photo of the letter, the police chastised him for “making untrue comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order.”

On Jan. 1, the Wuhan police announced on Weibo that eight people had been summoned and punished for “spreading rumors” about the city’s pneumonia patients. However, after China’s state broadcaster reported on Jan. 9 that a new type of coronavirus was responsible for the unusual number of pneumonia cases, people began to question whether the “rumormongers” had been unjustly punished. Then on Tuesday, the Supreme People’s Court criticized the Wuhan police for reprimanding the whistleblowers.

Over the past week, Chinese netizens have heaped praise and encouragement on Li and the other whistleblowers, as well as scorn and criticism on the Wuhan police for trying to silence them in the early stages of what is now an international public health crisis......

The Wuhan Pneumonia Patient Trapped Between Despair and Hope

Zhang Chi is sick: His last CT scan showed that his pneumonia has spread from one lung to both. Since developing a fever and visiting a hospital on Jan. 21, Zhang still doesn’t know what’s wrong with his body. With each new hospital he visits, he is examined, prescribed medication, and told to go home.

The 39-year-old’s requests to be tested for the coronavirus are repeatedly rejected: There’s a shortage of test kits, and his comparatively mild symptoms make him a low-priority patient.

To avoid infecting his young daughter, Zhang moved out of his home and into a hotel. For over a week, he has been caught in a cycle of hospitals and community health centers, of high temperatures and normal temperatures. Now back at home with double pneumonia, Zhang is being looked after by his elderly parents.

On his last visit to a hospital on Jan. 30, Zhang received the same response as usual: “The doctor didn’t tell me when I should come back for another CT scan or how long the recovery might take,” he says. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

While it’s difficult to estimate how many people in Wuhan are facing the same challenges as Zhang, he is almost certainly not alone.

MyHairIsSoapy · 02/02/2020 11:59

@RevolutionofourTime hope the travel goes ok, and sorry your DH has to stay behind.

@OneOfTheGrundys sorry to hear that and hope the transplant goes ok.

KundaliniRising · 02/02/2020 12:02

Mining Corona virus Genomes

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 02/02/2020 12:40

Thanks Kundalini interesting reading! I have been struggling to find any proper scientific reports into the actual virus.

wheresmymojo · 02/02/2020 12:51

For more scientific chatter on Twitter I would recommend searching ncov2019, ncov-2019 and 2019ncov.

These tend to be used more by the scientific community whereas if you search on Coronavirus anything actually useful and interesting is drowned out by bloody idiots the general public

OP posts:
teta · 02/02/2020 13:05

Information now that it's thought to also spread via the oral faecal route .
Thank you for linking my articles @ Kundalini .
Yes, it's really difficult to sift out info. on Twitter so thank you for those hashtags.

CrapTVAddict · 02/02/2020 13:34

What does that mean oral faecal? People not washing their hands after the toilet and touching surfaces?

Misandra · 02/02/2020 13:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MyHairIsSoapy · 02/02/2020 13:44

@CrapTVAddict yes, the virus is found in faeces, so anyone going to the toilet has contaminated a seat, or touching gate door handle before washing their hands. Or worst touching the door handle then walking out has contaminated. But then I hate public toilets for this reason anyway!

Anyone got the link for someone up thread saying about people travelling back from japan asked to self quarantine? There is another thread with someone asking about a surprise trip to Japan in a week and everyone’s say one of course go it’s all fine!

teta · 02/02/2020 13:48

Actually correction - It's been found in the faeces of infected patients so there's a strong likelihood of this being being a possibility. But there is no confirmation that this has actually occurred so far. It's important as it may be transmitted by hands coming in contact with faecal material or possibly by infected toilets or dodgy plumbing.
In HK during the Sars outbreak 320 people in Amoy Gardens all developed Sars after a dodgy sewage system spread the virus throughout all the apartments.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 02/02/2020 14:17

I've just watched some seriously weird shit on twitter. A real wtf 10 mins.

Anyway, here's some drones telling people off for being outside.

nypost.com/2020/02/01/drones-scold-chinese-residents-without-masks-as-coronavirus-spreads/

Shock
BestOption · 02/02/2020 14:41

@kundalin

Thank you for that.

Those poor people. I hope we can get updates on Li And Zhang and others

my head hurts

I’m torn between feeling it’s ‘surreal’ & quite scared of how this is going to play out globally.

I’m torn between buying a full on face mask with all the bells & whistles & thinking that without the Internet we’d all be going about our business as usual.

I have now got NO IDEA which products will be even vaguely useful against this (antibacterial handwash (will carex work), dettol type wipes etc) or do I just stick with our usual normal soap & bleach?

Food - we don’t normally eat pasta, rice, beans tinned food or other long lasting basics. Obviously we would if we needed to - and I don’t mind donating some food to the food banks if we end up not needing it, but it’ll be quite a lot of money and quite probably the food banks will be inundated with pasta etc not sure if/when to buy food we will only eat in an emergency.

AmelieTaylor · 02/02/2020 14:57

@OYBBK thanks for the laugh, it was very funny! Needed something a bit ‘weird shit’

EmmaGrundyForPM · 02/02/2020 15:19

@BestOption. if there is anything long life your family eats then buy that. We have quite a lot of stuff from.when I was prepping for a no deal Brexit and I didn't buy anything we wouldn't end up eating at some point, with the exception of Long Life milk which i donated to the food bank. Thanks to fellow Mners I also discovered Idahoan mash which has been a lifesaver!

HasaDigaEebowai · 02/02/2020 15:49

I've found it tricky to get hand gel other than some tiny bottles in lidl. I've ordered rubbing alcohol from amazon.

I'd rather have this stuff and not need it than not be able to get hold of it if/when I do.

TipseyTorvey · 02/02/2020 15:52

Based on this thread popped to local shops to top up the medical stash of lemsips, painkillers etc and there is no handgel or rubbing alcohol be found, (apparently its been suddenly very popular). Wish I'd got more on it last week but I was telling myself not to be daft.

BestOption · 02/02/2020 15:54

@EmmaGrundy

Thank you for replying, but as I said in my post there’s actually nothing long life that we would eat normally. Including packet potato

I know it sounds weird/snobby, but it’s not, it’s the only way for me to avoid medication. It’s boring & joyless.

Obviously if we did end up in an emergency situation we’d eat whatever we could (vegetarian that is)

MynameisJune · 02/02/2020 15:59

Any anti-bac that has more than 60% alcohol will be okay against the virus. Good hand hygiene is still the first defence. I’ve managed to order a load of Milton wipes, spray and gel for delivery this week from a supplier in the UK.

Stocking the chest freezer with more stuff this week and also getting what we need to make our own bread rather than buying loaves of bread. Milk is the biggest issue, I’m going to get formula for the baby’s porridge in case we run out and long life almond/soy milk for DH but DD doesn’t like that and won’t have it. Not the end of the world, just wondering if there’s a solution other than freezing fresh milk:

MynameisJune · 02/02/2020 16:02

@BestOption what do you eat? Not being funny genuinely asking, you don’t eat rice? Or Curry? Or veggie lasagne? Anything that you could at least batch cook and freeze?

MyHairIsSoapy · 02/02/2020 16:04

I had a brexit stash. Just been through that and all the long life milk and bread mixes are out of date. This scares me far more than brexit. Brexit was just food/medication no deal. This is a breakdown of food/power/water if all the technicians are out of action. Also there aren’t enough ITU places for everyone infected if it gets to that.

I don’t have the facility’s to cook / filter river water if no water or power.

And if people know you have these things then you’re going to be burgled pretty quickly!

HasaDigaEebowai · 02/02/2020 16:09

It always bugs me slightly when people say that they don't eat long life things on threads like this. Most people don't live on tinned food and eat as much fresh food as possible. The point is that that they could live on processed food if they had to.

Besides:

rice
pasta
cous cous
quinoa
nut roast mixes
soya mince
tinned tomatoes
dried fruit

all long life and all things most vegetarians have in their cupboards. DS1 is vegetarian and loads of his stuff is long life.

HasaDigaEebowai · 02/02/2020 16:09

myhair all of your bread mixes will be fine. Just add an extra half a teapsoon of dried yeast when you're making it.

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