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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

#101

Post by kragen »

numakerg wrote: post #56
James_Henry wrote: post #4

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…

What are the chances that residential electricity, gas or water get shut off as a result of an outbreak in North America? I live in a mid-sized town and we have enough dry beans and cereals to last a few months, but without hot water it would be a week at most.

Build and test Mark Jurey's penny stove design. You can do it in half an hour with household materials, and then you can fry an egg on a skillet over it. (If you have a gas stove, you can put the penny stove on the gas stove to provide the needed air space.)

Alcohol is the best liquid fuel to use. It's nontoxic, can be extinguished with water, and serves double duty as an antiseptic and a nonpolar organic solvent. If you store the alcohol bottles floating in a larger container of water, they are inherently fire-safe for storage, although I don't bother. Considerable exploration of these themes is in Dercuano.

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

#102

Post by rsync »

joshstrange wrote: post #17

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?

"I'm thinking non-perishables or stuff with a high shelf life but what else should you consider buying?"

This is by no means my area of expertise, but in provisioning for earthquakes and other disruptions, I have simply bought more of what we're already using.

Not only will you not waste the items, you will keep them refreshed and current as you cycle through your (longer) queue of normal foods you eat.

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

#103

Post by anonuser123456 »

vkou wrote: post #26
James_Henry wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 fo…

Do the N95 face masks that you can buy at the grocery even do anything to prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Without getting to far into it, not really.

Theoretically they can... But practically there are so many routes to failure, the average person cannot use it.

If you were the guy with impeccable lab technique... Maybe.

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

#104

Post by James_Henry »

imglorp wrote: post #91
James_Henry wrote: post #4

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…

> store up ... enough (but not more than enough) medications I'm not clear how this would work in practice. In the US, between insurance and the DEA, patients get very little choice about how many meds are dispensed at which intervals. There are all kinds of constraints.

Yes, it of course depends on the medications and you can just do what you can do. Some people use over the counter medication, and sometimes you can get a prescription for a longer period of medication but not always.

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

#105

Post by James_Henry »

anonuser123456 wrote: post #103
vkou wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do the N95 face masks that you can buy at the grocery even do anything to prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Without getting to far into it, not really. Theoretically they can... But practically there are so many routes to failure, the average person cannot use it. If you were the guy with impeccable lab technique... Maybe.

This isn't true. Someone with general intelligence can figure out how to use one of these things correctly, and I think that people who care to figure it out will do exactly that.

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

#107

Post by searine »

mehrdadn wrote: post #88

Anyone know if surviving with this coronavirus results in immunity to it afterward?

You develop antibodies to the virus. However if that virus mutates seasonally (like influenza does for example) a different strain may still infect you at a later date.

Thus far that doesn't seem to be the case but who knows what will happen in the future.

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

#108

Post by bacon_waffle »

ars wrote: post #62
vkou wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These storage guidelines are incredibly paranoid. Milk does not go bad a week after opening. Eggs don't spoil after two to four weeks in the fridge. A bag of bacon in the freezer isn't going to end you because it sat there for three months. Fruit juice doesn't go bad in 3 days. Butter doesn't go bad after two weeks at room temperate, let alone in a fridge.

Agreed. Eggs can last 3 months outside a fridge, and yes, that includes eggs in the us.

If eggs are oiled and refrigerated, they'll last more like 8 or 9 months. I think the oiling is an old maritime technique, but came across it wintering at South Pole.

Of course, 3 months is plenty for the present discussion.

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

#109

Post by robomartin »

robomartin wrote: post #58

I'm advising everyone in my circle to prepare for a 30 to 45 day at-home stay and assume no stores will be open during that time. I think this is the prudent thing to do. I would also advise speaking to your neighbors to make them aware of the need to be prepared. To that point, buy a little extra of everything --well, maybe food only-- so you can help a few people out during what is likely to be a difficult time. Ha…

I am absolutely baffled that someone would down-vote this comment. I don't understand. I would love for someone to actually match their down-vote with an explanation. Maybe there's something to be learned there.

Having lived through at least a couple of important earthquakes in the Los Angeles region I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, you do not want to wait until the last minute to get ready for any kind of an out of the norm situation.

Then there's the question of what would constitute responsible behavior in the event of COVID-19 getting more serious in the US. I would guess this would, at a minimum, include preparing to stay home for somewhere around 30 to 45 days, particularly considering that we are starting to think the incubation period could be as long as 27 days.

And so, from this perspective alone --that of being a responsible citizen-- I am not equipped to understand someone who would down-vote advise to prepare for 30 to 45 days of at-home isolation.

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

#110

Post by blake1 »

Alex3917 wrote: post #100
ars wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Eggs can last 3 months outside a fridge, and yes, that includes eggs in the us.

> Eggs can last 3 months outside a fridge, and yes, that includes eggs in the us. Commercially bought eggs in the US need to be refrigerated because they remove the outer antibiotic coating before sending them to stores.

Partly true. The washing process removes the natural coating, but this is replaced by a synthetic coating. GP is correct.
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