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CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

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Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#11
The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no?

27% of people in the US can’t even afford a $400 emergency expense, which is (generously) the cost of maybe one visit to verify illness or moderate symptoms.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#12
post #8

Here are some actual documents on preparing for an influenza pandemic that the CDC is repurposing to prepare people for the coronavirus because of the similarity to the spread of the flu. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/pandemic-prepa... States will have their own influenza preparedness plans that they will probably be following for the coronavirus as well. One helpful thing that they advise governors t…

Thanks for posting these. I'm putting some time into preparing my family for any potential quarantine situations here in the US. These guides are aimed at policymakers and government officials. Have you, by chance, found any practical guides for what individuals can do to increase the resiliency of their households? I assume this is all very similar to having a well-stocked earthquake kit (which we do have), but I'm…

I haven't seen any good guides for individual and household preparedness, but I think that this guide "Interim Guidance for Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Homes and Residential Communities" (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-preve...), especially the precautions section, can be a useful place to see what would be needed to prepare.

Some things to have besides food storage and a normal supply of medicine would be to have cleaning supplies, maybe gloves and rubbing alcohol, and perhaps face masks. One issue is that face masks may be good to keep available for those who need it most. I'm not sure what is best practice to ensure you aren't taking face masks from healthcare providers or someone more in need.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#13

The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no? 27% of people in the US can’t even afford a $400 emergency expense, which is (generously) the cost of maybe one visit to verify illness or moderate symptoms.

"The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no?"

Well, I mean, yeah. Have you been watching the stock market in the past few days? Everybody's got a pretty clear view of this.

But "death" has that certain finality about it. A quarantine can pass in a way that death doesn't. Even a bad one.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#14

I'm lucky enough to work remotely so if schools do close, I can still earn a living while the kids are at home. I can't even imagine what kind of hell it's going to bring parents if schools shut down for any extended period of time. Same thing with small businesses - shutting them down is really going to hurt local economies. In my city, small business are about to shut down because of construction on a main stretch…

Sure, but killing 2% of the world population instead of closing down a couple stores also seems bad.

That’s not a fair thing to say. Closing businesses doesn’t guarantee anything about the virus. The halting of economic activity, even temporarily, can devastate people’s lives because it doesn’t always come back and many people already live paycheck to paycheck.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#15

I'm lucky enough to work remotely so if schools do close, I can still earn a living while the kids are at home. I can't even imagine what kind of hell it's going to bring parents if schools shut down for any extended period of time. Same thing with small businesses - shutting them down is really going to hurt local economies. In my city, small business are about to shut down because of construction on a main stretch…

> I can't even imagine what kind of hell it's going to bring parents if schools shut down for any extended period of time.

It would only be hell because its illegal, not because it's actually a problem.

There is no good reason for why you couldn't leave a healthy school-aged child home alone for the duration of a workday. That is, if you've actually raised them well.

Billions of people around the world have been raised in an environment where this sort of thing was normal - only a few western countries police this.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#16
post #8

Here are some actual documents on preparing for an influenza pandemic that the CDC is repurposing to prepare people for the coronavirus because of the similarity to the spread of the flu. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/pandemic-prepa... States will have their own influenza preparedness plans that they will probably be following for the coronavirus as well. One helpful thing that they advise governors t…

Thanks for posting these. I'm putting some time into preparing my family for any potential quarantine situations here in the US. These guides are aimed at policymakers and government officials. Have you, by chance, found any practical guides for what individuals can do to increase the resiliency of their households? I assume this is all very similar to having a well-stocked earthquake kit (which we do have), but I'm…

[deleted]

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#18

Not sure if this is the right place but what would be best for one stock up on ahead of time? I'm thinking non-perishables or stuff with a high shelf life but what else should you consider buying?

Anything you need on a daily/weekly basis.

We stock up on very low glycemic index protein bars and water. Lots of bottled water.

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#19

Not sure if this is the right place but what would be best for one stock up on ahead of time? I'm thinking non-perishables or stuff with a high shelf life but what else should you consider buying?

Food that you like. Medicines.

Imagine that you'll be stuck in your home for three weeks. What would you need?

Re: CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in US pandemic

#20
post #13

The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no? 27% of people in the US can’t even afford a $400 emergency expense, which is (generously) the cost of maybe one visit to verify illness or moderate symptoms.

"The tens of millions of people in the US who are underinsured, lack sick leave, or can’t afford to miss work would seem to almost guarantee a disaster if this hits with force, no?" Well, I mean, yeah. Have you been watching the stock market in the past few days? Everybody's got a pretty clear view of this. But "death" has that certain finality about it. A quarantine can pass in a way that death doesn't. Even a bad o…

Apologies, I’m not following what you’re saying with regard to death vs. quarantine.
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