Extra Potatoes, milk and oil, boyo.. Thats about it.
Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
141–150 of 566 posts
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#142This is very likely to overwhelm not just medical infrastructure, but shut down supply chains for basic necessities for months. If the pandemic hits, most businesses will shutter, just like in China. It is prudent to stock up now for 1-2 months of cheap, non- perishable foods like rice and beans (complete protein together) at a minimum. There's just no excuse not to now if you make a tech salary - a couple hundred do…
I find this to be pretty alarmist. "If the pandemic hits" ... the virus has already hit. The WHO itself has backed off the Pandemic classification [1]. The virus has an overall 98% survival rate, and most diagnosed cases in the US, are not actually showing any symptoms (which itself is a cause for concern re: spread). The annual Flu, MERS and SARS were far far worse. The flu kills between 26,000 and 52,000 annually i…
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Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#143I see lots of advice about stocking up on basic supplies and being ready to stay home/indoors for a few weeks up to a couple of months. It sounds like great advice and my family is already building our stores up some from the typical stock. Does anyone have any advice though for those of us that have to leave the house? My job is literally travel. I don’t have much choice other than a leave of absence or exhausting s…
Right. And another concern I don't see addressed anywhere: what happens if one member of your family gets it? What preparation do you need to isolate/quarantine that person while still trying to take care of them?
Do you just settle for the fact you're all infected at that point?
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
The spread seems to be plateu as well. Total numbers will probably be less than 100,000.
It plateaued in China following an incredibly massive quarantine effort. The infection is hitting countries with not nearly the social control measures that China has.
You might be surprised. There are some old laws and powers that are going to be dusted off, and in some other cases it may be the case that governments just claim powers on an emergency basis and essentially nobody other than the absolute political fringes of society is going to complain.
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#145Wouldn't it be prudent to try and get the virus as soon as possible? Apparently, it's not that dangerous of a disease assuming you have medical care available. So, now is the time to get it... when you have the entire intensive care unit st your disposal. If you hide out in your bunker, wear your mask, and follow the CDC's advice, you'll probably not get it for a few months. But when you do, instead of having a nice…
On the other hand, if you delay contracting the virus for as long as possible, you leave more time for more effective treatments to be made available.
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#146Not at all. I think the media is overestimating the effects of this virus. The world will realise that soon and everyone will calm down. I can see this effect right now in Italy. I in one of the affected regions and while a few people have been queueing to empty shelves at the supermarket, I'll go tomorrow for a normal weekly grocery shopping. Supermarkets are fully stocked again and everyone is doing well. The main…
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#147By not having kids. Joking, but although we are well prepared for isolation (work mostly from home, live in the countryside in one of the remotest countries in the world, have off-grid solar and 3 rainwater tanks and could probably forage enough to live for a long time from fishing and gathering), all of that is undone by having a school aged kid. That means unavoidable contact with a wide group of other kids, from a…
Empirically 3 out of 4 times I get the cold, it is from one of my kids.
If things get really bad I imagine schools will close. If kids are “old enough” they may get some remote homework. Not great but doable.
But if you have a toddler you are pretty much stuffed. I can’t imagine what stay at home quarantine would to my 3 year old. It gets bad enough when we get stuck for the weekend because of storms... but TWO WHOLE WEEKS OR MORE?!!
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#148I'm chilling. I have doctor's orders to not lift or bend until April... whereupon I travel through multiple international airports to visit my ailing grandparents. I'm not expecting World War Z zombie worm-hordes, but maybe I should have my care taker grab an extra box of rice the next time they go shopping for me.
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#149We ran a drill a couple of weeks back where everybody worked from home to ensure that if we have to close our office we are able to continue working (assuming we're not ill, of course). This was really just to shake out any issues. Fortunately, since most of us already work remotely for at least some of the time we didn't have any significant issues. Beyond that, nothing really.
Wow, that's refreshingly forward thinking! I wish my company took remote work seriously.
Yeah there is nothing special about the internet in the office!
Re: Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
These are good everyday recommendations, along with the vampire cough/sneeze technique, which I really wish would become more widespread.
I've been doing that but what happens when you released your germs into your elbow/sleeve? It wouldn't get cleaned or sanitized until you wash your clothes. So I think if you are near a sink, it would probably be better to cover nose and mouth with hand and then clean right away. But yeah, I usually do the vampire method when I'm on the go.
"I've been doing that but what happens when you released your germs into your elbow/sleeve?"
The idea is that they stay there, rather than floating through the air and infecting someone else. While "lots of germs in your sleeve" may trigger our disgust reaction, they aren't a problem until they actually get somewhere where they can reproduce. Our disgust reaction is useful and there for a reason, but a little unfocused for a species that generally understands how germs work now.
It's particularly important for the "first few" sneezes, when you don't know if you're sneezing because of dust and this is just a one-off sneeze like any other, or if it's merely the first of a long series because you've got something and you're blasting viruses. Obviously, if you're sneezing so much that you, shall we say, "exceed the capacity" of your sleeve, then please take additional appropriate steps. But a little bit is still better off shot into your sleeve than the air.