Covid-19 and water

New Mexico finally got several cases of the coronavirus. The guv declared an emergency and many events here are shut down, such as the big Gathering of Nations down to my writers group cancelling meetings and classes.

If you go into grocery stores, drugstores, dollar stores you see a lot of empty shelves. What I don't understand is why people are loading up on entire pallets of bottled water. Our taps still work, and I don't foresee our water treatment plant shutting down. I've heard some people won't drink Corona beer now or even go to Chinese restaurants. Some people panic easily, I guess. No food shortages here, though.

What's it like where you are?

[Robin Garr]

Larry, Kentucky only has 10 cases so far - just two in Louisville - but it's a big concern here. Schools are closing for a couple of weeks, some businesses are having employees work from home, and there's even talk of putting off the Kentucky Derby.

I think concern is justified, though. They're trying to get out ahead of the contagion and get people accustomed to social distancing, washing hands often, and not touching our faces. Look at what's going on in Italy to get an idea what it might be like if we don't get ahead of it. If I lived where you do, I wouldn't wait for instructions. I'd start taking precautions now, figuring better to be safe than sorry.

[Robin Garr]

The Extraordinary Decisions Facing Italian Doctors
There are now simply too many patients for each one of them to receive adequate care.

Click for the full story.

Avoiding Corona beer is of course just plain silly. But the whole world of trademarks revolves around emotion, not rational thought. Remember the Ayds weight reduction candy? The advent of HIV/AIDS killed off that product.

-Paul W.

Good memory!

Apparently, the one about the Chevy Nova having to be renamed in Latin American countries ("no va" -> "doesn't go") is a hoax. Even GM could do that translation.

Well, what can you expect? Fifty percent of the American public are below average in intelligence.

The panic buying has sure hit Albuquerque. There's not a roll of TP to be found in the city. Nothing but empty paper shelves in Costco, Smith's, Albertson's, thrift stores, drugstores, restaurant supply store, office supply stores, etc.

Even the food shelves and meat counters look like there's a hurricane on its way. I was in a restaurant supply store today that usually has a half dozen cars in its parking lot and a similar number of people inside. No TP there, but it was a mob scene with huge lines of people with carts filled with tortillas, flour, water, etc., etc. Unbelievable.

How's it going where you are? Do you have a source of corncobs?

Same madness here. Paper products cleared from shelves s and the supermarkets are keeping new supplies “under the counters” and limiting sales. Apparently pasta and tinned products etc have been selling in big quantities as well. Beans and TP, hmmm.....
Incredibly selfish behaviour, which impacts significantly (in a bad way) on those on ,low incomes who shop week to week and have no capacity to have extra in the cupboard.
My community relies on our own individual rainwater tanks so there is plenty of bottled water (which there wasn’t a few weeks back when there was a run on it due to smoke contamination of tanks from the bushfires.)
Major events are cancelled or postponed, sporting events are being held without spectators.
A senior federal politician has tested positive ( after attending meetings with the Prime Minister and cabinet etc so that might prove interesting) he had recently travelled abroad.

Beans and TP, hmmm.....

There is a certain logic there.

Incredibly selfish behaviour, which impacts significantly (in a bad way) on those on ,low incomes who shop week to week and have no capacity to have extra in the cupboard.

Wow, yes, you're right. I never even thought of that angle. (It's bad behavior in so many other ways, too.)

Major events are cancelled or postponed, sporting events are being held without spectators.

Ditto here. I have received "sorry, closed" emails from every cultural institution, every theater, a bunch of stores and restaurants that I have frequented. Some sports groups have canceled their entire season.

A senior federal politician has tested positive ( after attending meetings with the Prime Minister and cabinet etc so that might prove interesting) he had recently travelled abroad.

Do you know the one from Alice Roosevelt Longworth?: "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me."

Virtually everything is shut down in Albuquerque and the rest of the state. Our libraries are now shuttered until April 15. Luckily, all due dates are postponed until then--particularly lucky for me because I have an inter-library loan with a $1/day fine that's due in three days.

Wife was talking to a friend in Pennsylvania. There's no TP there, either. Totally unnecessary hoarding, IMO.

Miles of bare shelves. Reminds me of shopping in the Soviet Union back in the day.

Now there's a shortage of corncobs and old Sears catalogues.

Groucho Marx, talking about the old days.
Listen to 13:50 - 15:36
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsuguzzEII

When I went shopping today the supermarket was completely cleaned out of chicken. Luckily I was there when the butchers put out the last few boxes of frozen chicken, so I was able to get a boneless skinless chicken breast to use in the gai sai takrai I had planned to make. I also picked up some curry leaves, eggplant, and broccoli (all still in good supply). I'll be making idli, sambar, and various dals for a while, I think.

-Paul W.

There's really no shortage of food; it's the panic-buying, which I don't understand, especially concerning bottled water. Our water treatment plant will keep on working. Just turn on the tap. Or fill your bath tub.

[Jenise]

My area has its own water supply, we don't buy bottled so no issue there. I own 98 rolls of toilet paper. It is my practice, not a matter of panic buying, to buy certain things in quantity and always ALWAYS have at least one backup because I absolutely detest running out of things and live some distance from grocers etc so the quick "I'll just run to the store" routine of the city dweller isn't in my world. I buy a few extra when I see what I like on sale. So last time I bought TP, at Costco and at the point there was one death and the day before they announced six more, I bought the customary two packages (30 ea) I would have anyway, then tossed in one more "just in case".

I bought tooth paste that day too--ten tubes--again, my habit, because they're small travel sizers. One lasts me a month, and I live in terror that my 'brand' will go away or change as has happened several times over the years. I cannot STAND white/creamy toothpaste and must have one that's see-thru. And further I accept ZERO substitutions of what I've gotten used to. Panic buying? Not at all, just me being me.

Still haven't found Clorox wipes, which I would love to have. And I can't risk the exposure of looking for them.

I used the last of my toor dal making sambar the other day, so I visited the local Indian grocery to get another bag. The shelves were still well stocked with most items, but there appeared to have been a run on dals. Not as severe as the meat run at the conventional supermarket, but lots of bare spots on the shelves. I was able to get my bag of toor dal.

-Paul W.

Staples such as flour, rice, pasta, and beans are in short supply or nonextistent here. Luckily, I always have lots of flour (and the other stuff), so I make all our bread, which is good because there's little to none on the grocery shelves.

My local grocery stores are doing a pretty good job of refilling the shelves. Whenever I go, something else is out -- one day all the meat, another day all the dairy, today it was all the napkins -- but the aisles are also full of boxes and I've seen as many as 4 guys stocking shelves. (It's a small store so that's a lot of muscle.)

The local drug stores are doing a fair job; I demand less of them so it's OK.

I've avoided the Trader Joe's. There is regularly a line out the door and around the corner.

Nobody has sanitizer/wipes. I'm relying on a can of Lysol that I found under the sink.

South Australia has 50 cases, at last count, and apparently all of them are people who contracted the disease overseas, or have been in close contact with someone who contracted the disease overseas. Eastern states have much higher numbers.

Outdoor gatherings of 500+, and indoor gatherings of 100+, are banned. However, a lot of small venues have voluntarily closed up for the duration, so live music is in abeyance for now and the musicians are all wondering where their next dollar will come from. Local councils are closing their community centres. Even the local Quakers have shut down their Meetings.

Supermarkets have empty shelves where the loo rolls, pasta, and most tinned foods should be, and as soon as replacements appear, people arrive and snap them up. I feel sure some people will be working their way through their stockpile for the next decade.

There is quite a bit of goodwill and generosity in the community, with many people isolating themselves or at least minimising their forays out in public, but there are still some twits who ignore all advice and go off to public gatherings as if they think it doesn't apply to them. There are a few people I run into on social media who are claiming the government is making excuses to control our movements, being heavy handed for the sake of it, limiting our freedom, yada yada. I have noticed that many of those who are saying these things have also claimed to believe in chemtrails.

The Francophile and I are staying home most of the time, but so far we don't mind. Plenty of books, music, and wine to keep us happy, and yes, we have enough loo paper because we'd bought our usual 3 month supply just before this hit. We are doing ok, thus far, but we're both expecting this to last at least 3 months, probably 6, and maybe as much as 12.

[Robin Garr]

Wishing you and the Francophile well, Matilda, as the world weathers this storm.

Thanks, Robin. Everyone across the planet is in the same boat, and if we can all think of the common good as well as our own welfare, we'll be right.

The sheer madness of the panic buying really astounds me. People are hiring buses to go strip country supermarkets. Friends have related this afternoon that Bunnings (a huge hardware etc chain) had run out of vegetable seeds and seedlings, the local electrical store has no freezers,
I’m working on the theory that cows will still be milked, chickens will still lay eggs, things will grow and I can prepare a decent meal out of what is at hand. And there spare lots of things which we really can live without.
Stay well everyone.

Barb and Matilda, I agree that the panicked shopping is ridiculous and dangerous. The latest response here is that shops are opening new "Elders only" hours, typically 7:30a - 8:30a.

Pumpkin and I are basically staying home except for walks in the park -- distanced from others, of course -- and whatever shopping is absolutely essential.

I'll admit I have been buying mail-order food, too. A good discount + room in my freezer is irresistable!

[Jenise]

We're staying in. I'm inviting other couples to join us for a Happy Hour Dates--conversation by telephone or Face Time. In some cases, I'll leave a bottle of wine at their door that we can co-taste and discuss.

Food-wise we're in pretty good shape. I'm not a hoarder, but I'm like Matilda and always have backups. The nearest grocer is 6 miles away and I HATE running out of anything. The trip to pick up one thing I might need takes 45 minutes--longer if there's a train at Peace Portal, so I keep several months' worth of essential stuff like TP, shampoo and all that. Foodwise I have an extra fridge in the garage and a well-stocked pantry. It will be lettuce and tomatoes that force me out into the world again.

Now the Costcos here will be opening early for geezers twice a week. I might try it, but will drive away if there's a mile-long line.