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

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

#321

Post by djmips »

veemjeem wrote: post #54
bad_user wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

is it possible to reuse a mask if you put the mask through an autoclave?

I heard a report that soaking them in salt water and allowing it to completely dry can destroy viruses as the salt crystals from. YMMV. Web search for more information.

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

#322

Post by thorwasdfasdf »

spking wrote: post #261
lsllc wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget exercise.

Do you suppose gyms are a bad place to go during an outbreak? So far I haven't stopped going, but seems like it could be an especially nasty hotbed of airborne and surface-based viruses.

if you're excercising for health, you don't need a gym. Just go for a vigorous walk, do some gardening, maybe a run, or vacuum the house. All of those count as excellent ways to get exercise.

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

#323

Post by gwright »

riquito wrote: post #116
cbHXBY1D wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2-3 weeks ago people on here were advocating stocking up on masks and selling at a high profit.

In Italy it's illegal, you cannot hoard or speculate on basic necessities (as the masks are being considered during the epidemic). https://www.repubblica.it/economia/2020/02/26/news/coronavir...

Perfect way to guarantee shortages. Let the price float and there is an incentive for businesses to figure out how to increase the supply quickly, thus causing the price to drop.

The economic theory on this is rock-solid and yet it seems impossible to educate the general public or government officials regarding the consequences of price controls.

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

#324

Post by radicalbyte »

thorwasdfasdf wrote: post #309
atarian wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I'm pretty sure Fat goes first. You mostly loose fat when fasting. It's not till much much later that you loose muscle (BMI has to reach a really low level for that to happen)

Talk to any bodybuilder and they'll tell you that for every 4kg of fat you lose you'll also drop 1kg of muscle.

So yes it is mainly fat but some muscles will be lost at the same time, especially if you have a high muscle mass.

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

#325

Post by mhandley »

senordevnyc wrote: post #190
Arbalest wrote: post #179

I'm making preparations, but I think I'm going to have to make even more. Having one child under two, and another just about to be born, I really can't afford their exposure, when they'll still be in a developmental phase that leaves them especially prone to permanent damage.

I think you should take whatever reasonable precautions help you feel better, but just to put your mind at ease a little: one of the few bright spots with this virus is that it doesn’t seem especially dangerous to kids. To my knowledge there have been zero deaths of any kids under the age of 10. I have a 4 year old and I’m much more concerned about her parents and grandparents than her.

We ought to ship all our kids off to some boarding school somewhere, and deliberately infect the lot of them. Once they've recovered and are immune, they can come home again!

Unsurprisingly, I've not actually suggested this to my kids, who I doubt would be too happy, but way back before the measles vaccine, parents did hold measles parties so all the kids got measles while they were young enough for it to be relatively mild. To be clear: not recommended for measles these days - just get the vaccine.

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

#326

Post by Recursing »

munificent wrote: post #305
Recursing wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's more common in the US as it's more sparsely populated? As in there are more potentially isolated cities? The scenario you're describing doesn't seem plausible to happen in Milan

> Maybe it's more common in the US as it's more sparsely populated? As in there are more potentially isolated cities? My impression is that Europeans generally don't know what real severe weather is like. A hurricane that happens to hit close to a population center while it has a strong eyewall is incredibly devastating. Think of it like a tsunami, windstorm, and a family of tornadoes all at the same time. The wind w…

Thanks for the answer, it's very likely that it's mostly caused by the more likely extreme weather in the USA

The most similar thing that comes to mind is the last major earthquake, but even then I don't think stocking food would have been useful, the problems were rebuilding infrastructure and buildings, not shortages of stuff

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

#327

Post by u801e »

RaceWon wrote: post #243
bad_user wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> A saner advice is to wash your hands frequently and to avoid touching your face when in public I wouldn't use a urinal either (I never do anyway, as a former licensed plumber, thosef'n things are NASTY imo). I also flush twice with my back turned before using a public toilet.. not ideal but better than not I think. I work in hospital

> I also flush twice with my back turned before using a public toilet.. not ideal but better than not I think.

Flushing toilets leads to aerosolized water droplets from the toilet spreading around the room and contaminating nearby surfaces[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_plume

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

#328

Post by Recursing »

cycrutchfield wrote: post #298
Recursing wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's more common in the US as it's more sparsely populated? As in there are more potentially isolated cities? The scenario you're describing doesn't seem plausible to happen in Milan

"It can't possibly happen here!" says increasingly nervous man.

Hi! Are you following me from the other thread? o.o

It's not "It can't possibly happen here!", more like "it hasn't happened in any place in western Europe in recent memory". We've had major earthquakes and stuff, but nothing that "stocking food" would have been useful for, (afaik)

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

#329

Post by downerending »

RegnisGnaw wrote: post #43

Refill your medication(s), that's the biggest one. India produces a lot of drugs and if they get infected, we will see shortage. China also produces a lot of the base chemicals used in medication, so this is worry some. If you have chronic conditions, you really don't want to be without. Soap and sanitizer. Mostly soap. Soap is equally effective as sanitizer in washing hands, etc. Soap is also much cheaper and more a…

If you're a raging alcoholic, don't forget that. Sudden withdrawal can kill you.

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

#330

Post by allovernow »

irq11 wrote: post #280
allovernow wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The annual Flu, MERS and SARS were far far worse This is NOT TRUE. I urge you to stop relying on the news and look at the literature that is being published in real time. I don't have time for a full response but 15% of cases require ICU care to survive. There are less than 100k ICU beds in the U.S. and the virus spreads 2-5x (R0 estimates from 3 up to 8 depending on source) more readily than SARS or MERS or the 191…

”Now is the time to be alarmed.” And this accomplishes what, exactly? Shortages of gloves and canned goods? Being “alarmed” is not a positive choice, even if your worst-case projections of the future turn out to be true.

If people start trickling into stores to stock up now, as the Canadian government is urging it's citizens, there will be less of a rush later. Perhaps we can avoid the chaos of empty store shelves.
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