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On March 14 2020 11:49 FBTsingLoong wrote: I can understand people panic buying food.But toilet paper?Yeah,it's necessary,but In ancient times there are no toilet papers,and people still live,right?
There are a lot of things that didn't exist in ancient times that I am 0% willing to live without. I don't accept that as a valid argument. It is entirely reasonable to make sure you have plenty of toilet paper. I bought a single giant thing at Costco, but that's it. It is weird that people are buying like...6 costco packages of it. But I firmly maintain making sure you have toilet paper is a totally valid thing to do. The extent to which people go to, to do that, is weird, but the underlining idea is fine, IMO.
I also made sure I have a ton of sausages, ability to make various grains and shit like that. I didn't go crazy, but I can definitely eat for the next couple weeks comfortably. I bought stuff I would otherwise eat, even if it turns out grocery stores are fine and everything in a week.
People who bought like 80 cans of white beans? Yeah, a little weird and perhaps an overreaction. But in my case, I am allowed to work from home basically forever. My wife needs to go to work since her job requires her presence and she works at a very altruistic company. So I feel compelled to help keep myself from being sick for the sake of keeping her company operating efficiently. If I lessen my exposure, I decrease my total risk of infection and thus help protect my wife. By stocking up, I can basically just stay at home for longer.
A person is smart, people are dumb, panicky animals. I think toilet paper is just scared people wanting to do *something*.
And TP is perfect as an emotional support stockpile compared to food. First of all it's something you need. Second it's non-perishable. Third it's a single type of item with a well developed supply line (everyone uses it at the same rate everyday so calculating demand is pretty easy), meaning it can potentially run out in a store if everyone panic buys it.
Panic buying food is not the same because people go into stores and realize the store is still almost full and there is no shortage. The reason is of course that most food is perishable and since the individual person is *smart* they realize they can't buy 6 months worth of fresh vegetables and chicken. Sure the canned gods shelf might look a little empty and they are almost out of rice. But you are standing in a huge building literally surrounded by other types of food which is very comforting. Next day you come in they are still out of canned goods, but the store is still full. Eventually you realize that no, food is not running out and chill out.
What is going to happen is of course that every store places orders for TP from every single manufacturer. Those companies increase production and in a couple of weeks we are going to have a shitload of TP on sale in every store since it turns out that you can't actually use more TP than normal even if you have 2000 rolls in your garage.
I usually ask people to do the following thought experiment in their heads when it comes to stockpiling for this virus specifically.
"I am a wizard and I just magically gave corona virus to every single person on the planet. What is going to happen? Of all the people in the world 5 % will be critical. 15 % will need medical treatment. Lots of people will die and hospitals will get overloaded. Ignore that. 80 % will have no to mild symptoms. Proportionally the virus hit the elderly hardest so the 20 % that are sick will mostly be in the older population. This means that for people who are working probably 90+ % of workers will be healthy enough to go to work. Does the store shut down if 1 out of 10 workers is home sick for a few weeks? Do the farm shut down? Does the water or electricity companies shut down? No. Corona virus is serious business but NOT from a food/water/electricity/goods point of view. Literally the entire world could get sick and we would still manage those things. It's a threat to health (mostly risk patients) and our economy. Nothing else."
I've been coming down with illness several days after both myself and my girlfriend have had contact with corona positive patients at work. I feel very feverish although my highest temp has only been 100.4 F. I've felt feverish maybe 3 times in my adult life so it's been alarming to me. Fortunately my symptoms seem to be a lot of upper respiratory - sore throat, nasal congestion, cough, headache, which seems more like flu than COVID
On March 14 2020 19:02 BlackJack wrote: I've been coming down with illness several days after both myself and my girlfriend have had contact with corona positive patients at work. I feel very feverish although my highest temp has only been 100.4 F. I've felt feverish maybe 3 times in my adult life so it's been alarming to me. Fortunately my symptoms seem to be a lot of upper respiratory - sore throat, nasal congestion, cough, headache, which seems more like flu than COVID
Have you been tested ? That would be an excellent idea...
On March 14 2020 19:02 BlackJack wrote: I've been coming down with illness several days after both myself and my girlfriend have had contact with corona positive patients at work. I feel very feverish although my highest temp has only been 100.4 F. I've felt feverish maybe 3 times in my adult life so it's been alarming to me. Fortunately my symptoms seem to be a lot of upper respiratory - sore throat, nasal congestion, cough, headache, which seems more like flu than COVID
Though nasal congestion is not a common symptom of Corona,but in China some Corona patients have it.I think you‘d better have a test,after all you had contact with infected people.
The Covid-19 epidemic will only ease when 70 percent of the world population develops antibodies against it, microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung says, warning of a long battle ahead.
"Only 0.1 percent of people are immune to Covid-19 and the ratio will increase by 5 percent every year," Yuen said on radio yesterday. "Only when 70 percent of all people have antibodies will the number of infection cases dwindle."
He predicted a dire outcome, with the epidemic failing to end anytime soon as worldwide efforts are "proving insufficient to completely curb the spread of the virus."
People who recovered could be immune for between five and 10 years, Yuen estimated, citing a University of Hong Kong team discovery of more antibodies in recovered patients' blood.
While foreign countries may develop a vaccine in one to two years, Yuen warned that getting hold of the vaccines could prove difficult.
Yuen added that Covid-19 has escalated to a pandemic, with chains of infections having already been established in outbreak areas.
"It does not matter whether the World Health Organization declares it or not, some people have already lost confidence in the WHO, and health authorities are rolling out anti-epidemic measures according to their data and figures," he said.
the article is mostly Hong Kong related but:
"The government's anti-virus strategy may have to last for one to two years. But residents have to live normally during the period, such as gradually resuming classes," he said on another radio program.
Lam said the epidemic had entered its third phase, meaning the government has to combat cases arriving from other countries.
"I think that Hong Kong should keep using the containment strategy, and it may last for a year or two until effective medicine or vaccines are available."
He said people should consider how to resume normal lives amid a long-term battle against the virus.
"If the virus really develops into a pandemic, Hong Kong could not be shut down in the long run. The city will be killed by the closure instead of the virus. Lots of people will be unemployed if there are no economic activities in Hong Kong."
is applicable to all the zones where infection got out of control/containment. sure, those are projections based on current trends, but Yuen Kwok-yung is an expert(in the most practical sense) on this.+ Show Spoiler +
Yuen graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong in 1981 with distinction in Medicine. Initially trained as a surgeon, he switched successfully to a physician and, subsequently, a clinical microbiologist. In the outbreak of avian influenza virus H5N1 in 1997 in Hong Kong, Yuen was the first to report in Lancet about the unusual clinical severity and high mortality of infected patients, which could be identified by the in-house molecular test at his laboratory.[1] During the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, he led his team in the discovery of the SARS coronavirus, being honoured as "Asian heroes of the year" in April by Time Asia Magazine.[2][3][4] Subsequently, he found the natural reservoir of SARS coronavirus like virus in Chinese horseshoe bat and renewed the interest of bats as the source of novel microbes causing emerging infectious diseases.[5] His research laboratory has also identified over 40 new viruses, 9 bacteria, 2 fungi and 2 parasites of which some are suspected or confirmed pathogens: coronavirus HKU1,[6] bat coronavirus HKU2 and others,[7][8][9] bovine and porcine hokovirus (now called Tetraparvovirus)[10] and Laribacter hongkongensis in fish and human.[11][12](from his wiki)
I don't think panic buying will increase the supply but it will satisfy demand in the coming weeks as the pandemic gets worse and worse. It would be bad if people needed them and there wasn't any left instead of people wanting some and the deliveries are predictable.
On March 14 2020 21:51 Sermokala wrote: I don't think panic buying will increase the supply but it will satisfy demand in the coming weeks as the pandemic gets worse and worse. It would be bad if people needed them and there wasn't any left instead of people wanting some and the deliveries are predictable.
It would also be bad if nothing at all happen to the supply chain but there's nothing left because a bunch of people decided they were gonna buy all the store stuff to put it in their basement...
In any case I wouldn't be against states regulating the amount of stuff one can buy until this is over, a bunch of people raiding the stores can screw supply chain by themselves. Those living paycheck to paycheck could be in a situation where there's a lack of stuff when their turn come because the next shipment isn't there yet, especially produce that are on sale or cheap.
On March 14 2020 22:01 Vivax wrote: There's already plenty of these hoarding smartasses trying to sell toilet paper online at insane prices. At least this guy has a sense of humor.
"Will exchange this exquisite roll for a rolex daytona or a porsche"
hahaha is that a stab at SPÖ? Drozda's Rolex and Dornauer's Porsche? is that a 911?
Besides consistently updating its website, the CDC has been putting out an abundance of short, digestible, easy-to-understand video clips to help those who are still concerned with the logistics of COVID-19. Stay informed and alert, but please refrain from buying into alarmist, apocalyptic conspiracy theories. CDC YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMg06DjcUk5FRiM3g5sqoQ CDC Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
On March 14 2020 11:26 REDBLUEGREEN wrote: Nothing of this is surprising. Most people following this story since January when it was developing in China were predicting exactly what is happening right now already at the end of January.
I can understand that the general public was incredibly misinformed because western media was full of lies and propaganda. Look at this North Korean News segment , it's from about a month ago when western media was still full of propaganda that the seasonal flu is worse and masks don't work. Literally North Korean media was more informative and reliable than average western media.
Apparently some store are also running out of bottled water fast which is also somewhat mesmerizing, it's not like the virus traveled by water or that somehow tap water will stop coming... I guess it's people who already only drink bottled water.
They are saying there's no shortage of food planned by anyone, but that the problem could come if worker in the supply chain get infected and the activity start to be slower because of a lack of workers.
And wiping our ass with printing paper or news paper and stuff won't kill anyone... It does suck for menstruated women tho.
On March 08 2020 03:47 Artisreal wrote: Masks actually work in the right circumstance as we've discussed multiple times in this thread.
On March 14 2020 23:06 Artisreal wrote: Masks do not protect you from infection unless you create very specific circumstances. As repeatedly discussed here.
lol man, this dude here already in a feverish delirium
On March 14 2020 23:06 Artisreal wrote: Masks do not protect you from infection unless you create very specific circumstances. As repeatedly discussed here.
lol man, this dude here already in a feverish delirium
On March 15 2020 00:28 JimmiC wrote: I wonder if there is going to be a baby boom in 9-11 months, with so many people stuck at home and no sports to watch.
There should be!
It seriously pisses me off that the 5k death toll is blown completely out of propotions. I looked it up, and lower respiratory infections cause between 2 and 3 million deaths per year, and between 8% and 9% of all deaths in the western world. This pandemy will not even make a dent in the statistics. When it is time to go, these infections are often guilty of giving us the final push, and Corona is very far from the worst offender.
The whole thing seems to be about the amount of intensive care patients, and the fear that the hospitals will be overloaded, but these crazy countermeasures need to be toned down ASAP in areas where the situation is under control.
Whole countries are shut down, for gods sake, and it is very unclear what is really achieved by it. If you dig deaper, I am pretty sure those will cause more damage to both lives and health than the virus itself. The social, economic and cultural cost should be obvious for anyone.
At least Sweden has not closed schools and sports activities. I applaud it!
EPT![[image loading]](https://images.derstandard.at/img/2020/03/14/Bildschirmfoto-2020-03-14-um-12.37.08.png?w=1600&s=8e5d4991)
