Thread by @whamprod

Thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic....

I’ve spent some time and money as a "prepper" over the past few years, and even before I "got into" prepping, I was unknowingly a prepper as a California resident who kept and maintained an earthquake kit with a PLAN.

A THREAD

First of all...let’s get a sense of proportion. The USA is in MUCH better shape than a lot of other countries. Follow this link to see how it’s affecting other countries around the world.
gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashbo…

As of this minute, there are 466 known cases in the US. Of those, there have been 19 known fatalities, and 8 known full recoveries. This data is somewhat flawed because there are almost certainly unreported cases.

We are ALSO in a flu season, and for the vast majority of people who catch COVID-19, their symptoms will be no worse than a case flu. They’ll call in sick and tell their employer that they’ve got the flu, and they’ll stay at home until they feel better.

👏 WHETHER 👏 OR 👏 NOT they transmit their illness to someone else, their COVID-19 infection will go unreported as anything more than the flu....IF it gets reported at all. And for most of those they infect, that will ALSO be exactly the case.

Why is that? It’s because nearly ALL of the worst cases, the ones that are potentially fatal, are the ones that will end up in hospital ICUs......AND TESTED for COVID-19. Most of the rest of COVID-19 cases will go unreported. Period. Regardless of how quickly and far it spreads.

So who are the ones MOST likely to end up in an ICU and/or die of COVID-19? It’s exactly the same segment of the populace that bears the brunt of OTHER highly infectious diseases with higher mortality rates—meaning those over the age of 60 with other existing health issues.

I am myself 67 at the time of this writing, and I’ve had a previous history of adult onset of exercise-induced asthma, and an occasional (but not always) tendency for viral URIs to become bronchitis. I have a resting HR in the mid-50s, and a resting BP of around 116/70.

I am therefore SOMEWHAT at risk. My dear wife has celebrated the 31st anniversary of her 30th birthday, and she is in generally better health than I am; so she has a decreased risk, but it is still higher for her than it would be for an active 20-something woman.

These facts are as true for COVID-19 as they are for the common flu. So can we all calm down just a little bit? HERE is what you should be focusing on, although your individual circumstances may re-order the sequence.....

FIRST, SELF-ISOLATION: In both terms of limiting your own exposure to others who are sick or carriers, or of limiting THEIR exposure to YOU if you are sick, you need to be able to isolate yourself from your surrounding community. Unless you become REALLY sick, STAY HOME!

SECOND, MEDICAL: Are you adequately prepared to take care of yourself, whether sick from COVID-19 or the flu? Do you have a ready supply of related medical and ancillary supplies—fever reducers/analgesics, electrolytes, anti-diarrheal meds, decongestants, Kleenex, and TP?

THIRD, FOOD: Do you have enough food and water ALREADY stored in the house to sustain yourself without having to leave your home, FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES? You probably won’t need to store water as you’ll probably not lose your home's water supply....but just in case....

FOURTH, FAMILY: This one is simple. Are you ALSO able to do all of the above for your immediate family/loved ones who are living under your roof, as well? If not, get busy and take that into account in your preparations.

FIFTH, PROTECTION: In the event of the absolute worst case scenario with a resulting complete breakdown of law and order, are you prepared to (a) protect yourself, (b) protect your sick family members, and (c) to repel all pirate boarders?

Those are the general categories of concern, and as I said up top, your order of priority might be different than mine. In fact, given one's level of preparation at any given time, the order of needs may change. I have personally found this to be true.

For example, previously, my efforts have been general....focused primarily on purchases of food, ammunition (I already own the guns), and medical supplies for treating trauma. But THIS time, I reasoned that I had enough ammo and trauma care supplies, so food it was.

My wife and I went to the local Costco yesterday, and it was WAY more crowded than a normal Saturday morning. Later when we were checking out, I commented on it to the cashier's assistant. She rolled her eyes and said, "it’s the coronavirus."

They had most things still on the shelf, but a few things were conspicuously absent. Most notably for us was large bags of rice and beans. Beans were completely gone. Rice had been sold out, restocked, sold out again, and restocked again JUST before we left.

For the Kirkland brand of 24 count water bottle flats, customers were being limited to two per customer. The usual ubiquitous samples stands were absent, and the servers had been put to work keeping the store sanitized.

Workers outside were wiping down shopping carts with a sanitizer before letting customers bring them back into the store. There was a line inside the store for toilet paper, and paper towels were double the normal price. It was a VERY different store from the last time I went.

So we were able to add another 50 lb bag of rice to our purchases before leaving. WE were able to get what we needed. If YOU wait too long, you might not be able to. What then? Don’t fuck around, and get theses things handled.

God willing and the crick don’t rise, you’ll never need any of it..... THIS time. If not, you’ll be better prepared for the next black swan event that arises—whatever it turns out to be.

If you get sick, self isolation is the responsible thing to do. If you’re trying to avoid getting sick, avoiding contact with other people is the only way to do it. You can’t do EITHER if you’re not supplied to do so. Take care of your business, or be part of the problem.

Only you can decide what’s right for you regarding illness, but consider the 2nd and 3rd order effects of a pandemic, and in this, an election year, the fact that both sides will fan the flames of fear for political advantage. Don’t fall for their bullshit.

Use common sense. Make sure that your medical kit can treat more than just penetrating trauma. Have bulk foods with long shelf lives. (Don’t forget to account for feeding your pets. Hint...dogs will eat rice...) Take proper precautions, and then get on with your life.

Black swans are, by definition, unpredictable. You don’t know what kind of hell could be coming down the pike that you just don’t see coming. Six months ago, I was wondering if the latest Ebola outbreak would be kept out of the US. I never even imagined COVID-19. Did any of you?

Probably not. Buy wisely. It’s already too late to order a bunch of those freeze-dried survival food kits. They were recently all sold out for the next several weeks, across all the brands I looked at. They’ve gone way up in price. Pending emergencies have a way of doing that.

Bulk bags of beans and rice, and buckets of hard red or white wheat and corn will go a long way toward putting calories into your body. Learn how to cook with them. Figure out proteins. A strict diet of carbs only isn’t healthy. Buy dried fruits....maybe some vitamins.

If you have the land, get some goats, sheep, chickens, and turkeys. If you have less land, rabbits make an easily raised protein source. Start a vegetable garden. A lot of these things can even be done on a medium to large sized suburban lot.

Whatever.... take reasonable precautions, consider how they might be applied in possible future emergencies in case it comes to nothing, and then relax because you’ve taken care of business, and live your life.