Coronavirus - what to stock up on?

Normal, people have more free time at home.

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I’m not shy about DIY medical self-care (for myself   - I wouldn’t dream of recommending some of the stuff I do to myself or usually, even mentioning it anywhere as “public” as the Interwebz, where someone impressionable but not especially careful to do their own research might see it), but even I would hesitate to do something like that for something as relatively “routine” as “close public contact”. What’s safe, or reasonably safe, for very occasional use in specific clinical settings may or may not be (at all) safe on a more frequent basis.

Among several other things, every human’s (or rather every animal’s) respiratory tract is “colonized” by various bacteria that usually maintain a more or less stable, but somewhat tenuously stable, balance, and significantly altering that - especially more than very sporadically - can have negative ramifications. And is iodine/Betadine known to inactivate coronaviruses generally? Iodine is pretty deadly stuff, but all disinfectants aren’t as “broad spectrum” as, say, alcohol, and while strong enough alcohol is pretty effective against most viruses on surfaces, even it’s not effective against all (relatively common) “pathogens” in general…

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Apparently your friend wasn’t the only person with the same “plan”… :wink:

Yabbut good luck getting one installed right now :wink: , even if you have a place for it…

Cat came back home with scars (from fight?) since a few days accumulatively, so far hairless spots and some wounds, nothing too serious so far. We have stopped him from going out after sunset now, as not sure I can find him a vet in a quarantine situation like this.

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Since I posted that, I’ve heard that the betadine prevents staph transmission. Probably not directly helpful as regards SARS-CoV-2, except that being sickened by staph may make you more susceptible to the virus. And you’re right, routine use could lead to resistance. But people who are taking science-based advice seriously are avoiding proximity to people other than those living in their homes.

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Whew, I was incredibly impressed at your foresight and thought I was a slacker by doing any shopping during this past month!

As of last week, I told my husband that I will only do essential grocery runs (my flexible schedule, and I am now shopping for my older neighbor) weekly at most.

I have also put him on notice that creative re-purposing of leftovers is the new normal. He’s far from a picky guy but in the past we’ve been spoiled with the luxury of being able to eat what we fancy. Gotta change in these times.

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My sister (South Shore Massachusetts) went to Shaws and another supermarket near her this morning (around 9 a.m.) and said store stock was pretty good on veggies, breads, meats, chicken broth, canned goods, pasta, etc. The in-store deli has been shut down and only pre-packaged deli meats/cheeses are available, fresh seafood has been packaged and moved over to an area in the meats section for pickup. Checkout lines were small. So it seems panic buying has slowed down a bit. Plus, stores are now limiting the quantities of what you can buy, which I think should have happened a little earlier, but they didn’t ask me. :wink:

I’m going to go to my local Hannaford in a little bit for some fresh veggies and half and half for my morning cawfee (although I do have a large canister of the dry CoffeeMate stuff), but otherwise, I’m well stocked with what I need.

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Nosocomial Staph infections are (unfortunately) quite common in clinical settings, especially when “nasal insertions” are involved, but rather less so among the general population (and I believe, but don’t quote me on this, rarely (if ever?) transmitted by “aerosol” means). It’s probably much safer just to avoid sticking your finger -much less anything else :grimacing: - up your nose when you’re away from home and/or unless you’ve recently washed the hand in question…:grin:

I have a active California B license. I have installed many toilets

Haha, no, having no experience with pandemics, I thought most of the early warnings were a bit of media clickbait/hysteria. It seemed so remote. Hearing from someone with family on the front lines in Asia, and reading some data-driven stories, definitely changed my mind.

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It’s only two of us at home so I’m not worried about us. I do worry about my parents and in-laws and will do what I can to get the food and deliver it to them so they don’t have to go out. We have the same issues here with lines, etc. that many do. But, I did hear of a new help today - a local restaurant that can’t serve, is still able to order from their suppliers - so they are ordering and making items available for drive-thru purchases. They post what’s available , you call in an order and pay, call when you are in the lot, and they will load into your trunk. Everything from milk (1 gallon bottles), eggs (30 pack), produce, cheese, butter, beans, tortillas, etc. Seems like a nice idea to help them and the community and get people stuff without the market lines.

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Is that a screenshot of an app you are using? What is it?

I kicked in to full hoarder mode today and got some more even though I’m not out. I offered a half bottle of Purell as payment but was rejected out of hand.

Cash is still king!!!

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Please tip the drive-thru take out folks generously as they don’t know if they’ll have a job tomorrow.

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I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!:joy:

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It’s OurGroceries - I LOVE it and live by it. I even keep packing lists for trips in it.

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It’s taken some days to get here but the UK goverment has now ordered bars, cafes and restaurants to close from midnight tonight until further notice. A number of other “social gathering” places like cinemas, gyms, etc, are also to close. The government wil support the wages, to 80%, of those laid off. There are other areas of financial help for businesses and individuals

All good measures, IMO. That said, there appears to be minimal support for those who are self-employed and might be affected. For example, my BiL who is a taxi driver and will, presumably, see his trade decimated with the closure of pubs, etc.

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So I went to my Giant supermarket this morning. They have switched from 24/7 to 6 am-10 pm (6am-7am for seniors only) presumably for cleaning and restocking. The restocking portion of the program is not working: no chicken, no ground beef, no tuna, no broth, no frozen vegs. very limited soup selection. And only two containers of generic kitty litter? Who hoards kitty litter? Weirder still people had overflowing carts and some families actually had two overloaded carts. What are they loaded with?

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I ordered 50# of kitty litter from Amazon. D@m^ cat goes through a lot of kitty litter. A 9# cat–that took my wife twelve years to talk me into–has doubled our waste stream.