Local conditions

[John13verse34]

Here in coastal NC, things are similar to what everyone else has reported. I think it's been at least 10 days since any grocery or drug store had hand sanitizer. All the disinfecting products are gone, and of course all the toilet paper. I think I'm ok on food and supplies for a while. And I work from home normally, so I don't have the drastic work changes many people are experiencing--social distancing kinda feels like everyday life.

Meanwhile, more and more businesses are closing and all events are cancelled. All schools in the state are closed.

I'm most worried about my parents (birth and step), who are all in their 70s and all have chronic medical issues, but also concerned that being in my mid-50's I'm old enough to have increased risk. (when did I get that old?)

Stay safe, everyone.

[John13verse34]

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.

That's a great idea. I'm going to do that today for my favorite local restaurants if they offer the option.

[DonGuy47]

I'm in the urban sprawl east of Los Angeles. Last week when I did my weekly grocery shopping, everything seemed normal. I looked for hand sanitizer, just out of curiosity, but it turned out I wasn't looking in the right place. Today I did the weekly shopping again. What a difference! No milk, pasta, canned food, flour (I make my own bread, so that one was a blow), processed meats, or root vegetables. It's a testament to how disgusting it is that there was still plenty of goat milk. I scored some (cow!) whipping cream for my morning coffee. Of course the paper products aisle was empty. The fruit and vegetable drink aisle was CLOSED. Never seen that before.

It's especially strange that there's no milk. You can't hoard milk! I wonder what the mixture is, of the things causing these shortages: hoarding, panic buying, supply chain disruption, and decrease in restaurant meals.

[bwt1213]

My wife and I just went to Walmart today. The shortages everyone else has mentioned, we saw. What astounded us both was that sugar was gone. In the baking aisle, absolutely no sugar whatever, white or brown or any other kind. No flour. Almost all the butter was gone, and 90% of the yogurt was gone. On the other hand, there was milk, though I saw a number of carts with more than a gallon in them. There was actually some Ramen noodles left -- not many, but there was some. I didn't check out the vegetable area; my right ankle started doing odd and painful things and not working, so I had to go sit down on the bench in pharmacy for a while.

[eliza.d545]

Hi! I live in Utah. School was just dismissed (online) and everyone in the neighborhoods have been really helpful in giving if they think they have extra. There are definitely pros to a religious area.

[JJBeanie]

Here in Australia, it's crazy, too! Supermarkets have put limits on certain grocery items: toilet paper (1 pkt), hand sanitiser, tissues, paper towels, pasta, rice, and flour (2 pkts each). I went shopping today and the toilet paper aisle was empty, there was no hand sanitiser or flour. Penne pasta doesn't seem to be selling well, lol, but all other types of pasta are mostly gone. Potato and onion levels were low as were milk powder and long life milk, but dairy cabinet foods and meat were well stocked.

Some supermarkets have restricted entry in the first hour after opening to the elderly or people with disabilities. It should work in theory, but the stores still ran out of toilet paper and other essentials well before the hour was up.

At times, we get conflicting advice from our federal and state governments, and medical experts. It makes my head spin. Non-essential gatherings of 500+ people are banned, but this doesn't apply to workplaces, schools, universities, shops, supermarkets, public transport or airports. We should practise social distancing, which is impossible in schools, universities and on public transport. We've been told that between 20% (5 million) and 60% (15 million) of our population could contract the disease and that 150,000 could die from it, but don't panic, lol.

Everyone who comes into the country via aeroplane have to self quarantine for 2 weeks, however there are no quarantine measures in place for cargo ships entering our ports. Crew members from these ships can leave without any medical checks or self quarantine. It's up to the captains of the cargo ships to decide whether any of the crew are infected. Quite a few of these ships come from China and South Korea.

The saddest thing, though, is how selfish, short sighted, short tempered and judgmental many people have become.

[HyacinthBucket6]

Here in Toronto, Canada it seems much the same. I had to go to 3 grocery stores to get a loaf of bread. There are no limits on how much you can buy. They've just asked people not to panic and hoard toilet paper because there's lots to go around. A lot is shut down and now all restaurants are too. Unfortunately I deliver packages and am paid per package. So with most businesses shut down I've already seen a 30% drop in business and we're just starting. Luckily I just got my new computer after my operating system had failed on my old one. Not a good month so far, but I'm thankful I've still got my health and my family (and cat Hyacinth Bucket).

[DrPlacebo]

One interesting thing: in many places, it looks like Asian markets still have plenty of toilet paper. One of my friends observed on Sunday evening that the only thing the local Asian supermarkets are out of is customers. It seems people associate the coronavirus with East Asia and stay away, ignoring that high likelihood that no one at the local Asian market has actually been to China recently. If I hadn't succeeded in finding toilet paper earlier, I would have taken advantage of other people's racism and gone to 99 Ranch for it myself.

On the other hand, this doesn't seem to apply at all in places with large Asian populations. I'm told that Asian supermarkets in the San Jose area are sold out of toilet paper and staple foods just like all the other stores around them.

[Naboka]

Outside of KCMO. Went to Costco today for salad and bananas. Most empty (of shoppers) I've seen it. Ever. Dairy all sold out. They had eggs, but limited to one. Lots of water but no TP or rice or hamburger. Talked to a stocker and he said they had plenty of rice and other stuff in their warehouse but were having trouble getting the trucks to deliver the products. Talked to my cashier who had stories of couples with 2 carts each loaded with stuff, and lines stretching deep into the store. But, in this area, when we get a weather forecast of a 2" snow Costco gets swarmed by people terrified of living an extra day without their "necessities." Still plenty of whisky on the shelves though.

[littlemarph]

I'm in Detroit, Michigan. Playing it safe and not leaving my house except to walk my dog. My governor is on it; everything has been closed for days, the public schools have been shuttered since last week, the college where I teach has gone online only, as all of them did last week. Yet I keep seeing pockets of kids playing in groups and a lack of social distancing. I worry that my neighbors and many others are not taking this seriously. We all need to get on the same page, sacrifice together, and do what needs to be done. I wish more people were waking up to this new reality faster. What are you all seeing in terms of this?

Be well and be safe, friends!

[JJBeanie]

Something new in Australia: busloads of city folk are coming into smaller towns a wiping out the supermarkets. Some supermarkets are now requesting ID and only selling to locals. In one area 4 busloads turned up at a small town with a population of 1,500 and completely cleared the shelves. I live in a small town. We have one supermarket and we are already feeling the strain. We don't need "outsiders" shopping there as well.

[mcdonna]

Something new in Australia: busloads of city folk are coming into smaller towns a wiping out the supermarkets. Some supermarkets are now requesting ID and only selling to locals. In one area 4 busloads turned up at a small town with a population of 1,500 and completely cleared the shelves. I live in a small town. We have one supermarket and we are already feeling the strain. We don't need "outsiders" shopping there as well.

Wow, that's nasty! We always hope that crises will bring out the best in people but it seems to also bring out the worst in others.

[ThunderRock]

Back here in New Orleans... everything shut down now except grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies and restaurants can only do take out or delivery. French quarter completely shut down. I have a restaurant here and this will be our first day doing take out so should be interesting to see what happens. I am better of than most here because I own my building and property on a very high rent section of the city. Garden District.. worried for others along Magazine st who have to pay rent... the small restaurants who's rent around this section can run 5000 a month and more. If this lasts too long... don't know how most will make it... We need this virus out and done with soon for all our sakes around the world.. Anytime you see Vegas completely shut down... you know its bad...Never thought i'd see that day.... 3 things I never thought I would see in my life... a terrorist attack the likes of 911,,, what happened to us for Katrina and now the world going thru this !!!

[fasteddieb]

I'm in Japan in Kyoto. Everything seems normal except for not seeing Chinese tourists flood the Kyoto tourist spots. The bullet trains are really empty and there's not a lot of travel between Tokyo and Kyoto. Besides that, the supermarkets have food. It's only masks, toilet paper, and hand sanitizers which are not in stock. Other than that, and the fact that the schools are closed, there's not much difference.

[LittleNightOwl]

Pittsburgh, PA is the same. I think my county has about 6 confirmed cases the last time I checked. I was, unfortunately, traveling for work right as everything was getting more serious for the East Coast states, so I've quarantined myself and haven't gotten to see how the city is coping, but my family has told me the grocery stores are pretty much empty of product and everywhere is a ghost town. We also have the non-essential business closing mandate and carry-out/delivery only for restaurants. The wine and spirits stores have closed indefinitely state-wide and no grocery stores are 24 hours anymore. All schools are out and from what I see on Facebook a lot of people are struggling.

Anyone else going stir crazy? I thought as a home-loving introvert I wouldn't feel a difference, but I'm definitely missing human contact and the outdoors. I live on the second floor of a shared house and while my room is now its own little apartment, I'm not able to go outside without going through shared living spaces.