We are not there yet, but could be. We are now under national, state, and county emergency declarations. Local schools are closed. The grocery stores are swamped. We have essentials, and we have TP! Our freezer is full of veggies, fruit, meat, and film. We have electricity and running water. We have yarn. We have fabric. We have art supplies. We have a neighborhood where the houses – and thus the people – are more than 6 feet apart, so we can go for a walk or out on a hike. We have computers, board games, dogs, and Netflix. We have old DVDs. We have a garage full of stuff to be cleaned out or worked on. Housework, too.
I think we can stay fairly well amused in face of these emergencies. While it may seem I am making light of the situation, which has been poorly handled in a country our size and will most likely result in unnecessary deaths and debt, it really is important to think of the “what if” situation. For instance, toilet paper is being bought up in alarming rates.
I heard from a woman in line at the market that her son in Japan cannot find it anywhere. So what do you use? Google it and you can get some answers.
As well, people with kiddies (and adults) in diapers are being told to make sure they have enough on hand. That makes sense – but when the disposable supply is low or gone? Cloth is your friend, then. I remember all too well the diaper pails and the washing of diapers, sometimes by hand if the electricity failed, on a washboard. And the smell of ammonia. Modern conveniences, when they disappear, have alternatives.
So far, where I live, there are about 4 cases in the county. However, schools are closed, and other public places. My husband can work from home quite easily. The last true emergency I can think of is when we entered WW2. We will learn from this situation, but there may be a high cost because of those who have destroyed government resources for such times.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
There are nine cases in our county: One from that tragic nursing home in Seattle, which the patient had visited before flying home, and the other eight connected with a conference held in Boston by Biogen, a neuromedical firm. So far, there has been no community spread from these cases that has been reported.
On its face, the panic is a bit bewildering, and I believe it is related to a lack of hard data. In 2009-2010, we had a swine flu epidemic here, which spread to us from Mexico. Sixty million Americans got the illness (I was one of them, with secondary pneumonia as well), and more than 12,500 died, maybe considerably more. There were no quarantines or cancellations of events. What we don’t know, for this virus, is what the actual mortality rate in North America will be. Extreme efforts to keep this out of nursing homes and hospitals are necessary. Further, if old people get this, or people with compromised immune systems get it, they’re going to need ventilators. The closures of public events are designed to “flatten the curve” so that cases needing breathing support will not exceed our ability to provide it. The vast majority of cases among people under 65 will be either mild or no worse than ordinary flu, as far as we can tell now.
On the other hand, Americans in general have better nutrition, better air quality, and fewer smokers than Wuhan, China, so the death rate there may not apply here. Italy, another country hard-hit, has the oldest population in Europe, a habit of hugging and kissing which spreads disease easily, and lots of smokers.
There are also hopes that, like other coronaviruses, the incidence will decline with warmer weather. So we just don’t know what the statistics will be in the USA.
All that said, my husband and I are in a modified self-quarantine because we are in our seventies, although healthy. We have lots of supplies, kind neighbors, and an acre lot to putter around in. Our worst problem is that my husband is awaiting a knee replacement towards the end of next month. It hurts, he can’t walk as much as he’d like to, and he’s bored.
I hope this doesn’t get into nursing homes now that we know about it, and of course there is worry about the homeless populations in some of our larger cities, where unsanitary conditions already exist.
But I cannot explain the toilet paper panic! We are all human after all, and irrational thinking abounds.
While I’m at it, here is an excellent site to track the data. It is updated frequently. At this moment, in the nation, we have 2,399 active cases reported, 2,389 mild and being treated at home, and 10 serious or critical. So far, so good.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Good info. Also, who can trust data out of mainland China, anyway? It appears to have had a four month run. I think our own response has been negligent in many ways as former HHS personnel predicted this in January, but were told they were nuts. Regardless, we have to deal with reality.
Sorry that Steve’s knee is painful, but good you are isolated as well as part of a community. I hope it can be delayed.
Here, we are okay, as mentioned in the post. I went shopping yesterday and it was nuts. A friend told us it took him ten minutes to find a parking place at Costco, and then an hour to get in. This morning I realized we needed onions and such, so swung by the local TJs – line out the door. On to Sprouts – easy peasy!
Yeah, people are panicking – but we’ll survive, I am sure!
Thanks for the link!
Our lot are shilly shallying, one day no shut downs, the next all large gatherings, a bit late really. Phil works at a hospital and I’m in an ear clinic so we still have to work, dreading getting it but que sera sera.
“Also, who can trust data out of mainland China, anyway?” Exactly! South Korea had quite an outbreak, as did Taiwan, and both seem to be getting it under control.
Dried herbs work well, N, and I keep dried onions, shallots, parsley, and garlic on hand anyhow.
If more people will wash their hands and stay home when they don’t feel well, we could beat this and reduce the death rate from flu, too. Being something of an introvert, I think I will institute a “no touch” policy in public permanently. I can smile and say, “How are you?” without shaking hands or hugging.
I understand what you mean. I used to do x-ray, often at hospitals and in ER. So glad those days are past.