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.

for all worried people who have lots to worry about and so much on your mind (so, all of us basically )

@Toughmonkeys do you have a Tassimo machine as we had one but it has broken and we are not replacing it - I have some boxes of hot chocolate I would be happy to send you for DC if they would be any use? It would have to be when our two weeks isolation is up of course.

I am awaiting a call back from my consultant as I have respiratory issues anyway as this cough and breathlessness is awful. My temperature is 102. I am praying the DC and DH don't get it. I don't want to worry anyone but I feel awful.

I'm also glad we have DVDs still (and probably VHS tapes somewhere!) as the internet is too slow for Netflix at the moment and I have teenagers

One other thing I have noticed is that I am using many more cleaning wipes than I thought. We have one bathroom (and it has adapted rails etc so I touch a lot of surfaces). Usually I use cloths and spray but under the circumstances I'm using wipes to wipe everything down after I have been in it. So if anyone not quarantined already has cloths and wipes in, I would use the cloths and save your wipes if possible.

Also (apologies if all this has been mentioned, poor memory) Sainsbury's say they are giving priority to elderly and disabled customers so it may be worth contacting them if you're in that category.

One thing I wish I had more of is ice lollies and fresh juice (obviously there is a limit to how much you can store of this) I'm also using ice cubes as fast as we can make them.

Looks like we might make Thread 16 after all! My biggest WhatsApp group has 5 people in (including myself) and that stresses me out when notifications start popping up - don’t know how people manage with whole class groups! I think the thread went a bit dead over the last couple of days because people were dealing with the real life challenges that had been thrown at them, but I think it’s had a bit of a resurgence & is now poddling along at a manageable rate. After following it since the first thread was started in January I think I’d miss it (no doubt that statement will sound its death knell!).

I rarely use my landline (just so I can ring my mobile when I can’t remember where I put it) but I’m glad I kept it now. Good point about the DVDs too - I’m using a tiny TV as I’ve just had my house renovated and was going to buy a fancy massive screen one, but the postage stamp one has got an in-built DVD player.

Thanks to you guys I had bought all the essentials quite a few weeks ago so avoided the shops last week. Yesterday I did a massive shop, so much so that I was getting looks at my trolly, but it was just fresh stuff and treaty stuff. I managed to totally avoid the sections that were depleted.

I have avoided mumsnet for the last few days. Everything is focused on this and its depressing. I've now hidden the corona topic and am just reading this one with you lovely lot.
Unfortunately and understandably it pervades most of the other threads too and I'm missing the entertainment value of the old mumsnet. What are we going to do when normally we'd turn to here for our entertainment, especially given we will have more need of entertainment soon? I can't see too many light hearted threads in the next few months, or trivial 1st world ones.

Also having multiple items of essentials (and of course we all will have these) has been a godsend as I have (for example) my own basket of toothpaste/deodorant etc to carry into the bathroom with me so I don't have to wipe down the communal ones. It's amazing how much stuff you share without even thinking about it.

YY to the mental effects. I'm finding it so hard to keep the recommended physical distance from DH - we are no longer at the can't keep our hands off each stage but in general, I also hadn't realised how much we hug and kiss in passing and fist bump at own stupid in jokes. It's so hard, and only seeing my DC at the door. It's very lonely.

Oh yes (sorry for multiple posts but I've been feeling too poorly to post, and keeping thinking I must tell the thread this )

We created a family WhatsApp group (you all probably already have this!) so we can still have family conversations from different rooms. This mostly seems to be filled with GIFs from my DC but it's lovely to feel we are still in contact. I thought about starting a virtual I Spy game on it but they would probably kill me.

Well I'm so glad of this forum. Ive lurked for a long time and always been a bit of a prepper.

It's taken me ages to get my mother to stock up a bit (she buys carrots individually bless her) but she has been putting a few bits aside thankfully. She is elderly and immunosuppressed and now isnt able to order online. Ive come down poorly (not with cv) and the last thing I want to be doing is trailing round shops, mil on the other hand laughed at the idea of stocking up, dh took her shopping and she's come back without loads of things shes run out of and forgotten. Dd lives at home but works in a school, cant wait until it closes.
Ds lives a few hundred miles away, has no paracetamol in at all and running out of food. I hate feeling that if they'd listened then it would have saved a load of worry, its so stressful.
Im just going to try to stay in and cosy today, its comforting in a way to know others are feeling similarly. Stay strong folks, this too shall pass as they say.

@originalcatlady I'd be gutted about the birthday plans too. My daughters birthday plans will be cancelled at the end of the month too but she's younger so won't really know.

You will get a refund on the tickets so can she just have the money to spend online. A trickle of parcels arriving whilst we are stuck at home will cheer them up and they'll enjoy online shopping choosing their own things.

@katewhinesalot I think once we are all on lockdown there will be loads of AIBU threads wanting to divorce husbands or my MIL has booked a cruise etc etc

@webuiltciscityonsexistroles sorry to hear you feel lonely, stay on here for company, I appreciate all posts and am glad I found the threads when I did, I felt end of Jan that this was coming but thought I was being silly and this space gave me the courage to take action at home to prep

How awful to hear about CAHM’s cancelling appointments.

It must also be a very scary time for those of you who are single parents. I hope you all stay well.

Did anyone see PM’s questions. He mentioned a decision being made on schools imminently!

84tins

True 😏

@BoringBettie thank you I had no idea home bargains sold it.

Need a break from these threads now we are being called scum for being long term preppers because we are associated with people buying loads during the crisis and calling themselves preppers.

All Schools in Scotland closed from Friday!
And the Eurovision is cancelled

@nellodee Perfect analogy!

@ofwarren I hear you. I cannot get my parents to hear me - or the government, etc - and one is super high risk (the age, the medically vulnerable list and the SUPER vulnerable extra list they published). They intellectually understand but don’t seem willing or able to translate that into modifying their lives and restricting guests for a bit (namely a blasé family member who should be INSISTING upon staying away).

Only saving grace is I made sure they had food preps, hand gel, zinc lozenges, etc.

@Waitasecond Totally agree - I’ve always thought of it as a stages of grief / change curve situation. I myself am too emotionally erratic to follow it though 🥴 - I’m panicked then accepting...then in denial...then angry and back and forth between each one, sometimes several times a day.

@BanKittenHeels that's precisely why we need to stick together here it's only.going to get worse.
I lead a privileged life why on earth wouldn't I take responsibility for myself. Some outbursts need lessons in logic and reasoning.

*some people out there....not outbursts.

@BanKittenHeels who said that and why? Prepping is very different to panic buying and stockpiling . X

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1250693/coronavirus-uk-preppers-hand-sanitiser-supplies-gloat-covid19-flu-virus-spt 🙄 no preppers will be smug , instead we worry about using up the prep stock!

BREAKING: Coronavirus cases in UK jump to 2,626 as 676 more patients are diagnosed t.co/UsClfPIvnL t.co/mo4QMlLs7v

God that's a lot. Thanks for the update @ofwarren. I look here before the news tbh

They said the deaths will be later on. I'm assuming after BoJo speech.

@ofwarren thank you for the update. That’s a lot isn’t it. Did they update the number of deaths yesterday or have I missed it?

Yeah. I can't remember the exact figure. It was about 17 I think