Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?

Post by davidw » Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 11:08 PM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #143

bronco21016 wrote: post #87

I 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?

Post by RaceWon » Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 11:09 PM UTC

bad_user wrote: post #24

Someone1234 wrote: post #2

I'm not. There's no meaningful preparations for avoiding what is essentially a really dangerous variant of the common cold at an individual level. Now governments and the medical field should be preparing for it. But most of that is logistical problems (e.g. number of hospital beds, preparing quarantine plans, test kits, etc). You can order a bunch of masks if it makes you feel better, but countries with common mask…

Masks don't help because of low quality and people lack proper training... you shouldn't touch the mask, you shouldn't reuse it, you should properly dispose it, etc. A saner advice is to wash your hands frequently and to avoid touching your face when in public. Because you can get this virus by touching infected surfaces and then touching your face. It doesn't seem to be an airborn virus, but it does survive on surfa…

Post by hnick » Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 11:09 PM UTC

geophile wrote: post #6

Someone1234 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That plan seems predicated on the assumption that COVID-19 will burn itself out and disappear in a matter of months. But there's no current evidence to suggest that will be the case, and if we look to similar diseases, they have been around for tens of years. Even if it depresses in the summer months, it will return in full force next winter (see e.g. flu, common colds, etc). Best case scenario a working vaccine is i…

I am assuming that in the next few weeks I will need to be isolated for 3-4 weeks. I am assuming that electricity is mostly on, and water to my home is mostly available, (although possibly tainted -- preparing for that). After that, who knows. Hopefully there will be a vaccine.

Post by atarian » Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 11:10 PM UTC

Tade0 wrote: post #173

My father had the misfortune of being a civilian in Kuwait during the first gulf war. What I learned from his stories is that the line between normalcy and utter chaos is thinner than one would think. The war itself from the perspective of someone not actively participating is mostly boring (his words) - you can't really go outside, cable is down(no internet back then), not much is happening. But the brief transition…

Post by heavyset_go » Wed, Feb 26, 2020, 11:14 PM UTC

atarian wrote: post #247

Tade0 wrote: post #173

My father had the misfortune of being a civilian in Kuwait during the first gulf war. What I learned from his stories is that the line between normalcy and utter chaos is thinner than one would think. The war itself from the perspective of someone not actively participating is mostly boring (his words) - you can't really go outside, cable is down(no internet back then), not much is happening. But the brief transition…

Fat is actually one of the last things the body burns during starvation. Your muscles usually go first.