Prepping for a Pandemic... 15

[FuckThisWind]

A lot of us have been here before. We Prepped for Brexit. Some of us are Heathcare workers. We prepare for the worst every day. It's difficult to predict what will happen in our lives. In our lifetime. Will we get Cancer? Will a huge meteorite wipe the world out?

One thing is for sure, this new virus is either affecting us, or is going to affect us all very soon. You are all already onboard. I hope you are prepared and much as you can be. And in the meantime this thread is here to support us all.

This week will bring many new challenges. We are almost certain to have some sort of lockdown. Like other parts of Europe. We aren't special. We aren't different. We are all
fragile souls. But I hope we live to tell the tale.

God Speed.

Sorry @Pebble21uk - caught my phone! Yes that’s the one! Thank you.

My mum is starting to get quite distressed about it all. She is in her 60ies and we'll enough, but is 20yrs post a cancer diagnosis, is an amputee, has recently had a knee op and sometimes gets asthmatic reactions to things. My dad is in his 70ies but ox like in constitution. They are fortunate that they have a nice house to isolate in if needs be, money to buy in what they need and plenty to occupy themselves with. But my sister lives a travel away and if there is a lockdown they may not be able to see each other. She's finding it all quite distressing...not the practical side but the emotional toll.

We are quite well prepped I think, fair stock of non perishables,meds etc. Have nappies and reusable versions to fall back on, some meat arrived from the butchers to portion up and freeze. Have a Tesco delivery tomorrow for fruit and veg, and one booked every week for the next month.

Kids still at school, but will watch this space. Have plenty for them to do if schools close, and are lucky to be quite rural with lots of outdoor space. We also have a lot of projects we can get on with if DH around as well!

Popped to Aldi this morning for a few bits and happened to get there as it opened, a large crowd of people waiting which I haven't seen before.

I have got some salt fish in, I've never cooked it before but i know it's got a long shelf life so giving it a shot!
One question - how do I know if it's bad or not , I'm currently soaking it now over night however I'm nervous and don't want to give myself and family food poisoning

Just curious why people are stockpiling pasta but not rice?

If anyone is struggling to get loo roll, I went to B&Q today to get some gardening/decorating supplies and they had loo roll for sale. They had a decent amount, probably because most people wouldn’t think to go there for it!

"Coronavirus UK – Crisis to last until spring 2021 and could see almost 8 million hospitalised"
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/coronavirus-uk-crisis-to-last-until-spring-2021-and-could-see-almost-8-million-hospitalised/15/03/

God, I can't imagine this going on like this for a year.

I’m honestly beginning to think it won’t end. That this will be our new normal for ever.

@lannister I have no idea, i much prefer rice myself.

People are stockpiling pasta more than rice because pasta is made in Italy and due to the shutdown there won’t currently be in production so shops won’t replenish for ages.

I’m assuming rice may be more likely to keep getting imported?

Plus it’s easier to have fairly plain pasta if you don’t have other stuff to make a meal with. So pasta and butter, pasta and mayo, pasta and cheese? You need more stuff to make rice more palatable.

@Iannister I'm not sure why the general public is not going for rice most preppers prioritise rice. I suppose we as a nation just eat more pasta and possibly because it's cheaper.

shit.

amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/15/uk-coronavirus-crisis-to-last-until-spring-2021-and-could-see-79m-hospitalised?__twitter_impression=true

Oh god I could happily eat rice with a shit load sprinkle of salt!

@Oxyiz that's quite deflating isn't it.

@VenetoResident thank you for that translated post. I have loved ones in Italy too been checking in roughly every other day but not heard from them this weekend. I’m hoping they’re just busy/not charged phones but it’s hard not to worry.

Re who will need to self isolate I’m wondering if some kind of online medical census might prove useful? Rather than asking gp’s and other hcps and nhs admin to provide the info?

Can't seem to see any advice about siblings etc. there’s sod all advice about anything! That’s the bloody problem.

People are panicking and stressing because there is NO GUIDANCE!

@PermanentlyFrazzled if what you’ve bought is actually blue roll like the military use for hand towels I really wouldn’t use as loo roll! It won’t flush! You’ll end up with a blocked loo. Use it instead of kitchen roll or face tissues instead. Will that free up a little loo roll for you?

@Orchidflower1 Thanks for the heads-up. We’ll see how well a couple of sheets breaks down water when it arrives, then yep, maybe use a bin instead. We’ve got a sewage treatment plant because we’re not on mains drains, and I don’t really want a mega expensive bill if that gets clogged up.

Erm I don't agree with this at all!

Coronavirus: Prisoners may be released early in bid to stop spread behind bars
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/coronavirus-prisoners-released-early-bid-21697682?utmsource=twitter.com&utmmmedium=social&utmcampaign=sharebar

Hopefully it's a load of rubbish!

Thanks @Graphista I’m thinking use as loo roll but bin/burn it instead of flush it. As we’re rural, we have the odd fire to burn rubbish so although not great for the environment, it might have to do for a while. 6 people in the house, 2 with IBS 🥴

All you need to make rice most palatable is a stock cube. Rice into roasting tray, cover with stock half way up the tin, seal with foil and into oven on a low/mod. If you add some frozen peas and sweet corn, maybe some smallish chunks of fish or cooked chicken or what have you, blimey, delicious.

I hope that won't happen @MoonlightMistletoe So if we manage to avoid a painful death (possibly without medical treatment) we'll be mugged, burgled, or worse! Boris and Cummings and co. will of course be safety tucked away in some kind of gated community somewhere safe from harm. It might make sense for early release if it's non violent crimes where they're no danger to the public especially if they're elderly. Ease pressure on prison staff when many might be off sick.

I think the panic is because we're seeing the rest of the world take measures to try to mitigate things. The UK isn't doing that.

It's utterly terrifying to think this could last until next year. Is anyone else concerned about people getting it during a summer heatwave? Avoiding that is the only possible justification for our government doing nothing to slow the spread.

I chose pasta over rice because of the issues around reheating rice. Less stress about cooking a large batch to go in the fridge for a few days.

I’m honestly beginning to think it won’t end. That this will be our new normal for ever.

It will - either because of a vaccine or because most people at some point will get it and be immune.

So far the signs point to us having immunity after catching it, even if it mutates we'd have some immunity.

Then it will be almost like another, more horrible form of the flu. Something at risk groups can hopefully be vaccinated against and only impacting a smaller number per year.

On the financial side we have just advertised two of our three spare rooms to rent (the 3rd would be a pain to rent out but we will if we have to).

I really can't see me getting work that covers my usual 'breadwinner' salary any time soon and DH will lose income if/when they close gyms.

Renting out these 2 rooms = £895pcm.

DH and I would have to get whatever jobs are going - maybe delivery drivers or something to top it up. Still won't be enough but parents/PILs may lend us some and trying to move to an interest only mortgage.

Our outgoings are high

Aside from a vaccine aren't they working on drugs to treat it? They've already had some success with several and I think others are being trialled.

@wheresmymojo I'm sorry about your financial worries. The knock on effects of this are scary. I'd like to think taxpayer funds will be used to help those of us who might need it. Divert funds from white elephants like hs2. Other countries are helping people financially. No point a strong economy if it's not used to help us in our time of need. I hope we finally follow suit and start protecting the population - financially as well as saving lives.

MoonlightMistletoe salt fish has such a high salt content and low water activity, it cannot really go "off".
Soak it ( in fridge) and change the water a few times. It will have a chewy texture when you cook it, not like fresh cod.
Look at recipes for brandade, baccalao and baccala for ideas of what to do with it

@neome we just don't know enough about diabetes and the virus. We are supposedly are high risk but it's well controlled via pump. The prospect of isolating for 4 months is beyond awful.