Local conditions

[bwt1213]

I went to the store today to pick up some pretty normal groceries -- cereal, strawberries, chicken, crackers, salad, yogurt. I didn't need toilet paper or paper towels, which was good because there were none -- the whole row was just bare. There were also no strawberries, almost no yogurt, no chicken, almost no meat at all. This was noon on Saturday, and it's a small rural area in Wisconsin. I'm wondering how it is in other parts of the world. Yeah, I could ask the same question on Yahoo somewhere, but I'd get insane replies from insane people and most of them would probably lie, anyway. You guys are honest and I trust what you tell me, and I'm curious. I'm not trying to pick a fight or make a point. I'd just like to know. Is Australia like this? Japan? England? Madagascar? France? Please let me know, and if you find my curiosity upsetting, accept my apologies.

[DonGuy47]

The pet store was out of black cat collars.

[crazykate]

In Austria, we have government restrictions in place starting tomorrow. Universities and high schools will close completely, schools for younger kids will stop teaching but will have supervision for kids who can't stay home because their parents work in healthcare or something. Wherever possible, people should work from home. Non-food stores will remain closed, food stores, pharmacies, banks and post offices will remain open. Religious services, concerts, and other events have been cancelled, even weddings.

When these restrictions were announced on Friday, I spent some time shopping for art and craft supplies, books and toys for my kids to keep us all busy in the next few weeks. I was one of three customers in my local book & stationery shop (which was going to close), but the car parks at the local supermarkets (which were going to remain open) were fuller than I've ever seen them. I didn't dare to go grocery shopping on Friday. My husband went on Saturday and he said that while some things were nearly sold out, he didn't notice any completely empty shelves. We live in a small town half an hour outside the capital, though, and I've heard it was much worse in Vienna, with things like toilet paper, pasta and bread being completely off the shelves for hours at a time. However, the supermarket chains have all said that they had enough of all of that in storage, but they sold out quicker than they could restock, so it wasn't a true shortage but just a case of everyone buying the same things at the same time.

[DrPlacebo]

My parents are telling me that supermarkets in their area (Houston, TX suburbs) are out of virtually everything.

I'm in Sacramento, CA. The first confirmed case of community transmission in the US was here, as was the first US death outside Washington state, but the level of panic is somewhat lower. The weird thing here is that stores are completely out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bleach, and bottled water, but have plenty of everything else. There isn't even a shortage of soap, despite all the discussion of handwashing and how soap destroys coronaviruses more effectively than anything else.

I was down to my last roll of toilet paper, so I literally spent 3 hours last night and 8 hours today driving around town looking for anyone with toilet paper in stock. (Fortunately, I finally did find some.)

[DrPlacebo]

I'm really surprised at the hoarding of toilet paper and bottled water, because those are among the things people are least likely to be lacking even in a near-complete lockdown. TP is considered an essential and is unlikely to have supply chain disruptions, and usage rates aren't going to go up because COVID-19 doesn't have GI symptoms. Bottled water is completely irrelevant because no one's utilities have been cut anywhere in the world and this is not the kind of disaster that would contaminate water supplies.

I've read some commentary by psychologists that suggests that the first panic buyers went for toilet paper and water because they are bulky, which makes people feel like they are doing more, and then other people followed suit because of the very reasonable fear that the first panic buyers would take the entire supply.

[RussDNails]

Actually one of the first symptoms of the virus is usually mild diarrhea............

I went shopping on Friday and our local supermarket was pretty empty. Potatoes seem to be another thing that people are panic buying, can't seem to find any in our town.

I'm a med tech at a local hospital where people in our area with Covid are being treated so I'm not particularly looking forward to going to work tomorrow. There's 8 people on our team and they told us if one of us contracts the virus all of us will have to be quarantined for at least 3 weeks. Testing tents are being set up outside because they don't want people with the virus to just wander in to the hospital--if someone tests positive in the outside tent and need to be admitted they have a secretive way of getting them inside to where they need to be. They're not even telling us how they're moving in the patients or in what area of the hospital they are being treated. Really like something from a Hollywood movie, doesn't seem real. I've been a med tech for over 30 years and I've never seen anything quite like this.

The thing to remember for all of us is the virus is not truly as "deadly" as it's being portrayed in the media. Most people who contract it have very mild symptoms (full blown flu is much worse) and 99.5% will be just fine in 5-7 days.

Stay calm and I hope you all stay well.........

[mcdonna]

I do understand that for most people the symptoms are mild. I'm 69 but otherwise not high risk. However, my brother who lives nearby has lung cancer and COPD, and about half his lungs have been removed, so COVID-19 could be deadly for him. So he and his wife are being very careful; she does the errands but still worries about bringing the virus back home with her. I've shopped for them and dropped items off on their doorstep a few times.

We're in Corvallis, Oregon, a university town (population ~50k). Testing in the state has been very limited due to lack of kits; so far only 36 people in Oregon have been diagnosed with COVID-19. No cases confirmed in our county, though evidently one person was tested today. There is a case at a Veterans' Home in a town about 20 miles from here. We're lucky to have a pretty good regional medical facility in town, with teaching hospital and cancer center, so we figure we have a better chance than most areas to have sufficient health care ... but who knows?

The K-12 schools are closed statewide, though a few facilities are offering child care for working parents. Oregon State University announced Wednesday that final exams and all instruction through April will be remote wherever possible, but they are keeping dormitories open. If a class can't be taught remotely they will practice social distancing. A student-led petition to completely close the campus, citing fear of being vectors to older family members, had over 4300 signatures as of Friday.

In addition, libraries, some theaters, the aquatic center and community center are closed, and many events are cancelled.

One of the local supermarkets offers grocery pickup, where you order online and then show up at a designated time to pick up items. I tried it for the first time today. They don't offer toilet paper pickup as it's too bulky, but I've heard that they are out of it. They are also out of eggs, and said that the entire meat department was emptied by noon. They did have milk, but were out of my favorite bread. The bit I don't understand is that they are out of gallon jugs of distilled vinegar, as are the other two local stores I checked. I use it as a laundry rinse so it's not a big deal, but I can't figure out why people are stocking up on it. Otherwise I was able to get everything I asked for.

This pickup service just started in late December. The clerk who brought out the groceries said they had laid off all the other team members a few weeks ago as nobody was using the service, and then after Trump declared a national emergency the guy came in to find 50 orders for that day. So they had to pull in some other employees to help. The fellow was very chatty and was standing just a foot or so away from me. When I backed up and commented on the recommended 2-meter separation, he just joked about it. I thought that was odd since he did know that the reason so many people were using the pickup option was to avoid being near others.

[DrPlacebo]

Actually one of the first symptoms of the virus is usually mild diarrhea............

I went shopping on Friday and our local supermarket was pretty empty. Potatoes seem to be another thing that people are panic buying, can't seem to find any in our town.

I'm a med tech at a local hospital where people in our area with Covid are being treated so I'm not particularly looking forward to going to work tomorrow. There's 8 people on our team and they told us if one of us contracts the virus all of us will have to be quarantined for at least 3 weeks. Testing tents are being set up outside because they don't want people with the virus to just wander in to the hospital--if someone tests positive in the outside tent and need to be admitted they have a secretive way of getting them inside to where they need to be. They're not even telling us how they're moving in the patients or in what area of the hospital they are being treated. Really like something from a Hollywood movie, doesn't seem real. I've been a med tech for over 30 years and I've never seen anything quite like this.

The thing to remember for all of us is the virus is not truly as "deadly" as it's being portrayed in the media. Most people who contract it have very mild symptoms (full blown flu is much worse) and 99.5% will be just fine in 5-7 days.

Stay calm and I hope you all stay well.........

Diarrhea isn't "usually" one of the symptoms, it's a relatively uncommon one. According to the WHO:

"As of February 20, 2020 and based on 55,924 laboratory confirmed cases, typical signs and symptoms include: fever (87.9%), dry cough (67.7%), fatigue (38.1%), sputum production (33.4%), shortness of breath (18.6%), sore throat (13.9%), headache (13.6%), myalgia or arthralgia (14.8%), chills (11.4%), nausea or vomiting (5.0%), nasal congestion (4.8%), diarrhoea (3.7%), and hemoptysis (0.9%), and conjunctival congestion (0.8%)."

Other articles note that diarrhea is rare but could be an early sign of infection because it is not associated with common cold.

And here's a handy comparative chart:
5e6a58e684159f61963287a2.jpg

[beany1102]

Thank you for posting that chart, along with the related percentages. I passed them along to my daughter in Portland, OR, who presumably has COVID-19. She has not been officially diagnosed, as there is a shortage of test kits out there. She has been told by her doctor that her symptoms are consistent with the virus and to self-quarantine, which she is doing. She has been doing a lot of research on the virus, and she will find this very helpful. Thank you again.

I am located in the Hudson Valley region in New York, and the virus is not widespread around here at this point. Most of the cases are further south in NYC and surrounding counties. The change in the level of concern around here in the last week has been very significant. I went to the grocery store on Thursday, and they were low on paper towels and toilet paper, but not out. There were no Clorox/Lysol wipes, bleach based cleaners and no rubbing alcohol. The week before that, I had no trouble finding any of the above.

[pdiddp]

Same here in Massachusetts as far as the TP and sanitizer supplies go. I went shopping for a bit of food Friday and while the food seemed plentiful, the paper goods aisle was cleaned out of toilet paper and tissues. Fortunately I had bought some the week before so I didn't need any but I also found hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes were gone.

I have heard that some of the hoarding is being done by A-holes who will likely try to sell the stuff online at huge markups. Stores won't or shouldn't be gouging but that won't stop the greedy from trying to profit from a panic!

Went again yesterday and I guess the panic started to set in, a lot of food was cleaned out too, especially fresh vegetables, bread and milk.

[Inkita]

I routinely use the antibacterial wipes around my house for doorknobs, some countertops, etc. I went out last week completely unprepared to find not a single store that could even tell me when they might be in stock. I thought, okay, I'll use rubbing alcohol. Also gone. I had no intention of "stocking up", much less hoarding these things; I just wanted to buy what I usually do: one container. Found myself feeling quite peeved with my fellow sapiens. Maybe in addition to enough free testing kits and enough ventilators and trained technicians we also need community webinars on how to live sanely, practically and reasonably when we are experiencing fear. We live in an era where getting comfortable with existential discomfort should be included in our preventative health measures.
I wish good health and healthy doses of humor to all my fellow bogglers. At least we know if we are quarantined we already have our solitary obsession to keep us company!

[ThunderRock]

Here in New Orleans supermarkets are out of bread, toilet paper, pasta, water, lots of can foods and hot dogs. Schools are closed and the question was raised to our governor, who is going to watch these children if the parents have to work.... no answer... Our mayor who is... well... lets not go there....is panicking and acting as a panicked mayor making stupid statements. We just had our second death and it was another elderly person who had underlying problems. Mayor knew her. Now,,, the night before our local news stations were telling viewers , you don't have to stay indoors, You can go out... support your local buisnesses like restaurants and coffee shops and such because we need to keep our local economy up as much as possible but also just beware of what we have to do as far as staying away from anybody coughing, keep hands clean and such.. staying a distance from people if possible and no gatherings of 250 or more people at one event. Now the mayor comes out and puts and email out the next day stating... everybody should stay home prompting a big backlash from the local business community … But from what I can tell, people are going about their business as usual although, I have a restaurant here and have seen a big dip in business, people are still coming out and most said, they going to live their life but with just a bit more caution... Now they talking about in the near future shutting the French Quarter down. I find the media is really causing the people to panic or I should say... Overpanic

[DrPlacebo]

Just announced in California, effective immediately: bars and clubs closed, restaurants ordered to reduce dine-in capacity by 50%, visitors at medical facilities allowed only in end-of-life situations.

In Sacramento, the mayor is continuing to encourage people to patronize local restaurants, but is also saying "no one should be dining in" and reportedly considering a ban on dine-in service.

[Spike1007]

In Sacramento, the mayor is continuing to encourage people to patronize local restaurants, but is also saying "no one should be dining in" and reportedly considering a ban on dine-in service.

I read an idea to do both. Buy yourself gift cards (hopefully online) to your favorite restaurants for use when it's safer to do so. They get the money now, you're supporting them & get your food later.

[CardinalFang]

Here in beautiful Arizona (Phoenix), schools will be closed for two weeks starting tomorrow. Some grocers have begun consolidating their hours so that shelves can be restocked. Over the past week, I've been unable to find hand sanitizer or bleach cleaning products at any Target, pharmacy, or grocer I've stepped into . Yesterday (Saturday) was the eeriest of all days lately thus far: two Targets and a major chain grocer looked like they hadn't been stocked in days, with plenty of bare food aisles along with the empty home-products aisles. And the roads were oddly spacious and quiet compared to how they would usually be on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in March, which should be full of happy drivers and tourists from colder climes. Of course, spring training was shut down, and other big events and conventions have been cancelled here as is happening elsewhere. I'm active in the local archaeology community, and all events and lectures that I know of have been kiboshed through April. (Outdoor work was shut down in some places this past week anyway due to 2-3" of rain.)

So far there have been only 12 official cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in AZ, and community transmission is termed "minimal." But I'm sure that will change shortly. How could it not?

On the plus side, the weather is decent between heavy rain systems (another coming along in a few days), and hiking is a great and appropriate activity when practicing social distancing. I'm glad I can do that; it was much harder to get outdoors in the upper Midwest in March. bwt1213, I know my way around a few rural areas in Wisconsin!