I am not particularly concerned about medical effects of catching the virus due to the relative risk compared to other potential medical issues. I do keep a hand sanitizer in both my car and home, and continue to use them in certain higher risk situations, as I did prior to the CV.
I’m more concerned with indirect effects on things like the economy or individual businesses. With the rapid market fluctuation, I increased the rate of my index fund investments from ~3x per month to once a week – 401k from paycheck on alternate weeks, and contributions to an individual account on the weeks without paycheck contributions.
I’ve observed many people talking about CV, but I haven’t observed any significant differences in the operation of stores or business.
Use rubbing alcohol above 60 %. Most rubbing is 70 % so that is good.
Keep a Purell in the car now. So I took daughter back up to college today. I had to go to like Aldis, home depot, bank (atm) and put gas in the car and use the John at the gas station. I can’t believe how many surfaces I actually touch daily without even thinking about it. Times the times I touch my face, head, hair etc. In my office I do shake people’s hands and will have to excuse myself from that going forward.
I have controlled high blood pressure. It’s amazing I am still alive ?.
“ The homemade hand sanitizer recipe is 3/4 C. rubbing alcohol whisked into 1/4 c. aloe vera gel, stored in a pump bottle”
Ethanol vs isopropanol is more effective against viruses, and the recommended concentration is 70% or higher. The only ethanol of sufficient concentration available to the public (aside from hand sanitizers) is in alcoholic beverages such as Everclear and some vodkas and rums.
Ethanol causes a physical destruction of the virus, it is different from the antibacterial compounds in some soaps and doesn’t pose any risk for development of resistance or toxicity to the user. It’s great stuff!
I’ll be using it to wipe down equipment at the gym and on my hands, once the virus is confirmed in my area.
@BunsenBurner I can send you as many cuttings as you want, armloads, to root out In good old H2O ?. As it blooms in the vase, it’ll give you something cheerful to look at when you’re sitting at home in quarantine…
I usually only have one week worth of fresh food at home. I like a lot of fresh fruit/vegetable, so I stocked up on frozen berries/mangos/vegetables. I also bought some canned soups, steaks, frozen meals.
I am going on a trip soon, soI bought Purell, cleaning wipes (to wipe down tray and seat on the plane), cold-eeze.
I live in NYC and I haven’t seen anyone wearing mask on the subway.
We are flying to France March 19 for a 3 week trip that includes a 1 week river cruise (on the Rhone). If the flights aren’t cancelled I think we will be on them. If the cruise isn’t cancelled I think we will be on it. It will be a game-day decision.
Today at church it was announce that when we “share the peace” which is usually hand shakes and hugs, will be “fist bumping” instead, the younger kids really liked this:-) Afterwards people were passing around hand sanitizers.
There’s petition going on to cancel or postpone SXSW (huge two week festival) I don’t see that happening. Our next trip is a college visit to Dallas in mid March and it would take something very major to cause us to cancel!
A friend who travels all over the US for work is still visiting us late March. We are not stocking up any more than usual but friends say the local Costco was mobbed this weekend
We are in the area with the first US deaths. No purell available even before that news, and now the canned goods and other Staples are gone, lots of empty shelves which is weird.
A few weeks ago my husband made me go to Costco to get extra peanut butter, crackers, granola bars. etc and I kept telling him he was paranoid, but I did get some things because we also live where they keep saying The Big One (earthquake) is going to hit sooner or later. So I figured it can’t hurt to have supplies. Also got pet food and kitty litter and TP. Big freezer always has food so we are set.
My son flies out to Japan March 10 for a gap year trip and my daughter and I are meeting him over April break. We are all staying with a family friend and at this point, unless flights get canceled, we all plan on going. The only glitch is if my daughter’s HS tells us she has to self-quarantine upon return, I guess we would cancel since I don’t think she wants to/ can afford to stay home for two weeks. If things get worse here I would also feel bad putting others at risk when we come home, so we are taking it day by day. My son can self-quarantine in May when he returns since he is on the gap year.
The Publix near us doesn’t appear to be selling out of anything. In the south, people make milk and bread runs at the first mention of snow, and empty grocery shelves are featured on the local news. So far I haven’t seen any similar reports.
We didn’t get around to stocking our severe weather/power outage supplies in the pantry, so have been doing that this week. It will do for other emergency situations, too. One of our kids is immunocompromised, so we always have a stockpile of hand sanitizers, wipes, etc. I bought a new box of nitrile gloves last year that’s 90% full, and we already had some N95 masks. I don’t feel any need to buy more.
We usually use absentee ballots and will do so again this year. If I were an election volunteer I’d want to wear nitrile gloves.
We postponed a trip, mainly due to the flu, before the news broke about coronavirus. If Dr. James Robb is correct (comments posted in the pathologist’s tips thread), then we’ll likely postpone again.
I’m here in coastal LA and am not seeing the panic buying or shortages that seem to be happening in other areas of the country. My local Costco was just as crowded as it normally is on any other day (very) and not out of anything. Saturday night I was on the UCLA campus with 11,000+ fans in Pauley Pavilion for the UCLA/U of Arizona Men’s Basketball game (great game, Go Bruins!!!) and there wasn’t a face mask in sight, nor was anyone wiping down seats that I could see.
That said, I have Purell in my purse and in the car. Am trying to be more mindful about touching my face. I do worry about my mid-80s parents in their CCRC. My mother in particular, seems to be a magnet for whatever URI is circulating in their community. Like @Knowsstuff I am fairly appalled at the number of surfaces I touch just in a few hours of running errands. Going to try to be more mindful of that as well as up my use of hand sanitizer. Along with following the news and CDC recommendations, that’s about it for now.
My husband is a physician at a major medical center and nobody there is on edge or worried.<<<<<<<<<<<<
I don't buy that at all, a major medical center means a major population center, the numbers are just going to be significant, period. If any group is worried, it is HCPs who are going to be vulnerable in a sloppy environment without institutional preparations to protect them.
No real changes for us nor am I seeing much although I find it interesting to hear conversations or read next door where a few people are freaked out and others are the opposite. Mostly, I’m worried I could get it (I assume I’d have a mild case as I’m younger than 60 and otherwise healthy) but pass it on to someone more vulnerable.
We were talking about a summer trip to the lakes region in Italy with friends but the H has an autoimmune disease and the trip (before much was done) was cancelled. Now we’re going to go to parts of Washington and Vancouver instead. It’ll be the kind of trip that, if it needs to be cancelled, there won’t be much $ impact.
I am flying to LA this week and Seattle in April. I won’t be sanitizing anything and am not concerned.
Like others, the warnings have made me more aware of how long I wash my hands and how often I touch my face as well as public surfaces. I really don’t plan to change much of anything at this point but will try to be more attentive to these things.
The impact on businesses and, thus, the economy, stock market, etc. is what concerns me the most.
My relative is in charge of a major medical center and quite concerned. Believes there will soon be announcements about COVID-19 patients all over, now that test kits are FINALLY available. My other relative is bank counsel and they’re having a meeting a Friday for the bank on COVID-19 protocol. Other local banks have protocol as well, including work from home. His bank has been searching high and low for hand sanitizer for weeks—none available!
I’ve tried (mostly) to be rational about this and focus on things we might not be able to get if international transportation is disrupted. My dog has serious food allergies and the only treats she can eat are made in China, so we’ve stocked up on those, as well as her prescription dog food, which is made in Europe. I’ve also stocked up on parrot pellets, which come from the US. These are all things that can’t be swapped out easily. Next week, we’ll see my daughter’s doctors and ask them to prescribe more than they usually do - they usually prescribe just enough to take her to the next appointment. A lot of medications are made in China. In our local stores in Asia, toilet paper, hand sanitizers and masks are completely sold out, along with bottled water. Laundry detergent is another target for some reason. I guess one of the reason people stock up is it’s one of the few things we have some control over while we wait to see how this all plays out.
The virus is out & about in many parts of the US and apparently has been for weeks-- it's just that no one started testing for it until recently.
80% of **known** infections are mild. Given that some infections are asymptomatic and most people with symptoms of a mild cold do NOT seek medical attention, it is reasonable to assume that the percentage infected people who experience more severe symptoms is actually much smaller than 20%.
The progression of the disease even in severe cases is not particularly fast. Generally people with serious cases are showing up at hospitals or other medical facilities 1-2 weeks after onset of symptoms. Meaning that if I did catch this and get really sick, I would have plenty of time to get medical attention. (As opposed to flu which I know from experience can come on quite suddenly and intensely).
So why should I be more worried about contracting this than catching the flu? (or any other infection, for that matter? ) (See https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm)
It seems to me that there is a reasonable possibility that I have already been exposed, and even if not, it seems there is a very high likelihood that if I get infected, it will be mild. (I am 66 years old, no chronic health problems).
So yes, I get the basic hygiene practices (handwashing, etc.) — but I really don’t see this as panic-inducing.
I also get why from a public health standpoint, this is a problem – but I don’t think the problem is that hospitals will be overwhelmed by people with mild cases. It seems to me that there should just be more focus on taking precautions for more vulnerable populations (such as nursing homes).
In any case, I’m not changing my activities or my domestic travel plans – and no one in my extended family seems inclined to do so. If I get sick then I will definitely go and get myself checked out, assuming that doctors start testing regularly – but other than that, I’m just carrying on as usual.
“I also get why from a public health standpoint, this is a problem – but I don’t think the problem is that hospitals will be overwhelmed by people with mild cases.”
Hospitals could be overwhelmed with people with severe cases as is happening in other countries, which puts stresses on all parts of the health care system including those not Covid-19 related.
This is when people annoy me. Seriously, buying up all the masks that medical professionals need? Makes no sense. I get it, you’re “stockpiling”, but to see a woman on tv buying every last value pack of toilet paper? It’s just pathetic.