Coronavirus - Health and preparedness aspects - II

[brewer12345]

Try "shelf stable" milk. Whole milk with no refrigeration needed.

I looked, but none of the local supermarkets seem to carry it any more. Somewhat short shelf life as well.

 

[brewer12345]

It's a good idea to download "stuff" now. It's not any different than stocking up on food and supplies.

I have quite a few books that will last me a while. I do not have any of the subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon, and the like.

I still have a blu ray player and plenty of movies on disc.

 

[travelover]

I looked, but none of the local supermarkets seem to carry it any more. Somewhat short shelf life as well.

Check out Dollar Tree. They carry the shelf stable stuff and only a buck for a quart.

 

[travelover]

When to Self Quarantine

We live between Portland and Seattle, so this is coming to us rather quickly. At what point is it reasonable to just quit going out?

 

[brewer12345]

We love between Portland and Seattle, so this is coming to us rather quickly. At what point is it reasonable to just quit going out?

How risky is catching this for you personally? What is your risk tolerance? Arguably, yesterday is the day you should have shut in. Seeing news reports that the virus genetics of the community spread patient in Washington implies that the virius has been spreading there for 6 weeks.

 

[GenXguy]

There's a COVID-19 case in my state not associated with traveling, and I finally made it to a couple stores today to stock up a little.

Surprisingly, nothing seemed unusual at either store. There were shelves full of handsanitizer, 91% alcohol bottles, cold meds, pain killers, soup, TP, paper towels, etc. Also, I was able to get my bread, milk, and eggs. It wasn't all that busy, and it didn't look like any of the people I saw were stocking up, however, the 70% alcohol was out of stock except for 1 bottle.

 

[Bongleur]

I am also considering getting a mac-daddy medical kit (that includes IVs) from Amazon

got a link? Is that a brand name or a colloquialism?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I stockpile food, toiletries and cleaning supplies when they go on sale so should be okay for a few months. I have boxes of books and we live near a couple of gardens, lots of parks, and hiking and biking trails so that will be our fun if gatherings become risky. Plus of course Netflix and streaming services form the library like ebooks, movies and Great Courses. I have prepper items like power banks, solar chargers, all sorts of hand crank and solar lights, hand crank radios, first aid kits, a camping stove, water, water filters, solar shower, and a hand crank washing machine. I bolstered our prep items after we lost power for a few days last year so I think we're in good shape.

I've been wanting to add a bio mass stove, solar oven and solar dehydrator so it seems like as good a time as any to buy those. I can't think of too much more we would need. If we have more power outages from wind or fire danger we'll invest in a generator but those haven't happened enough yet to justify the cost for us. Being potentially quarantined at home but having power actually seems easier than not being quarantined but not having power, at least in the short term.

 

[Gumby]

I looked, but none of the local supermarkets seem to carry it any more. Somewhat short shelf life as well.

Amazon is your friend.

 

[Bongleur]

Personally, too much hassle. I use this for hiking: https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-SP128-Filtration-System/dp/B00FA2RLX2/ref=asc_df_B00FA2RLX2/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167131408724&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=178093350296815446&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004604&hvtargid=pla-308859112483&psc=1

Super light, works great.

You could have these for backup (e.g. some kind of issue with the filter): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009I3T3S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I keep both of these in my back pack.

If your water source is urban you should get the version that removes chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals & viruses -- their "select system."

EDIT: 20 oz x 400 uses = 62.5 gallons. So a disposable system. You will need to count uses. You might go with the cheaper versions for bathing water.

20 oz per is 6.4 refills per gallon. Some buyers said its awfully hard on the hands to do all that squeezing. maybe use a rolling pin on a flat surface ?

 

[tulak]

I’m in Seattle and not that worried. There’s still stock in stores, even though Trader Joe’s was pretty bare. I suspect this will mostly be self-containment. I doubt the supply chain will be that affected for basic necessities. The mortality rate for this is high, but not that high.

On the plus side, I’m feeling good about my puts, but I’ll leave that for the financial thread.

 

[Bongleur]

Powdered milk on Amazon seems to be backordered for about 10 days estimated. Some varieties of the shelf stable is just out of stock with unknown date. Both are quite expensive.

Is there any lactose-free skim in either powder or shelf stable?

 

[travelover]

How risky is catching this for you personally? What is your risk tolerance? Arguably, yesterday is the day you should have shut in. Seeing news reports that the virus genetics of the community spread patient in Washington implies that the virus has been spreading there for 6 weeks.

I'm a healthy 67 year old, but I'd still would hate to suffer through it.

I was / am fishing for how others would decide when that threshold had been crossed where they were not going out at all. We are already limiting our exposure to crowded places.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Powdered milk on Amazon seems to be backordered for about 10 days estimated. Some varieties of the shelf stable is just out of stock with unknown date. Both are quite expensive.

Cabela's has it available to order directly from Augason Farms: https://www.cabelas.com/product/Augason-Farms-trade-Dry-Milk-Emergency-Food/2350134.uts?slotId=0

$50 gets you free shipping

Powdered eggs are also available to order: https://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/gourmet-food/emergency-food/pc/104798880/c/104722380/sc/105517080/augason-farms-trade-dried-eggs-emergency-food/2350133.uts?slotId=1

I didn't look at other things (I don't really need anything).

I also just looked at Augason Farms website, powdered milk is available to order: https://www.augasonfarms.com/country-fresh-100-real-instant-nonfat-dry-milk-10-can

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Maybe this year is time for that multi-month do some more of the Appalachian Trail that I keep putting off. No crowded airports - spend as much time as I can away from other humans.

 

[brewer12345]

Cabela's has it available to order directly from Augason Farms: https://www.cabelas.com/product/Augason-Farms-trade-Dry-Milk-Emergency-Food/2350134.uts?slotId=0

$50 gets you free shipping

Powdered eggs are also available to order: https://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/gourmet-food/emergency-food/pc/104798880/c/104722380/sc/105517080/augason-farms-trade-dried-eggs-emergency-food/2350133.uts?slotId=1

I didn't look at other things (I don't really need anything).

I also just looked at Augason Farms website, powdered milk is available to order: https://www.augasonfarms.com/country-fresh-100-real-instant-nonfat-dry-milk-10-can

Don't expect to get anything from augason for a while. www.beprepared.com is the owner of augason. On that site they mention a 4 to 8 week backlog.

 

[Sunset]

...
Here's a question: can I use bleach to decontaminate the water then wait a day for the chlorine taste to go away?

Use standard ordinary bleach, (not the thick non-splashy kind, not the perfumed kind)

Yes you can decontaminate water with just 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water, then shake it up, give it 5 minutes to work.

You won't even taste it.

I bleach my water at cabin with lots more than 8 drops and can't taste it.

 

[Bongleur]

Quite a bit more expensive -- probably due to the 10 year packaging. Wish they had whole milk, I might succumb to getting one. Powdered eggs are something I didn't think about.

 

[Sunset]

Powdered milk on Amazon seems to be backordered for about 10 days estimated. Some varieties of the shelf stable is just out of stock with unknown date. Both are quite expensive.

Is there any lactose-free skim in either powder or shelf stable?

You might want to try soy milk, it comes in quart sized boxes, no refrigeration needed.
I've used these at my cabin which is like camping.

https://www.costco.com/kirkland-sig...in,-32-fl-oz,-12-count.product.100129024.html

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I'm a healthy 67 year old, but I'd still would hate to suffer through it.

I was / am fishing for how others would decide when that threshold had been crossed where they were not going out at all. We are already limiting our exposure to crowded places.

So far no change for us. Last week we took a crowded train into San Francisco to see Hamilton, had dinner out twice and and went out dancing at a crowded venue with friends. Maybe we will cut back on going out if things get worse but right now it seems like the odds are still pretty low so I'm going to have fun while I can. I just read an article where someone in New York city mentioned that people there weren't going to restaurants, movies and the theater, even though there haven't been any conformed cases there. That is interesting because we have had some cases here in Northern California, plus the whole debacle at Travis Air Force base, and yet every place we've been to this week has been packed. There have been news stories about business being off in San Francisco's Chinatown, though.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Don't expect to get anything from augason for a while. www.beprepared.com is the owner of augason. On that site they mention a 4 to 8 week backlog.

Oh well. As I mentioned, I wasn't buying, just looking (for something else). Interesting that Cabela's still lists 4-7 business days. As you mention, their (Augason's) site itself states 1-2 months.

That might be about the right amount of time (for things to get really bad and thus not be able to get milk at a store). Right now, I can get all the milk I want.

Here's an alternative: https://hoosierhillfarm.com/hoosier-hill-farm-whole-milk-powder-2-lbs.html

While I haven't used their powdered milk, I have gotten their Peanut Butter Powder (several times) and some other powders (e.g. Kale). I like their stuff (at least what I've gotten). Amazon also sells some of their items.

 

[Bongleur]

You might want to try soy milk, it comes in quart sized boxes, no refrigeration needed.

Full of female hormones.
Almond milk has Minimal nutritional value, 30 calories.
...

Hoosier dried milk is what is backordered on Amazon.

 

[gwraigty]

I'm a healthy 67 year old, but I'd still would hate to suffer through it.

I was / am fishing for how others would decide when that threshold had been crossed where they were not going out at all. We are already limiting our exposure to crowded places.

Our household doesn't have the luxury of deciding not to go out. 3 out of 4 of us still work.

DH works for a company, headquartered locally with about 550 employees. The company is owned by a billion-dollar company headquartered in Germany. DH's employer regularly brings in visitors from all over the world in the natural course of their operations. Germany, India, last week they had a man in from Hungary. So far the company has only banned travel to/from China when the news of the initial outbreak there became known. They held a regularly scheduled town hall meeting recently. DH said the coronavirus wasn't discussed at all.

Our daughter works full-time at a popular fast casual restaurant near the turnpike interchange. They have a lot of regular locals, but it's not uncommon to see out-of-state plates in the parking lot. It's been especially busy lately and her hours there have increased as a consequence. They have standard cleanliness practices, of course. She said the coronavirus hasn't been discussed at all. No special disinfecting is being done.

Our son (who has autism) works part-time in the kitchen of a nursing home. His hours vary widely from 20 to 40+ hours per week, with 4 to 11/12/13 hour shifts. He has virtually no patient contact. They had a staff meeting a few days ago on the 27th. He said the coronavirus wasn't discussed at all. You can guess how I felt on hearing the news of the outbreak in the nursing home in Washington state. How it goes there is how I expect it will go when it hits other nursing homes.

Exposure may be inevitable for our household. My efforts in stocking up are more for ensuring that we have enough in case of temporary supply chain disruptions. More to your question, another consideration is how far we go in trying to protect others under these unique circumstances. One of us being sick, especially mildly so, usually doesn't result in all of us going into self-quarantine. Like years ago, my kids didn't get to stay home from school and DH didn't get to stay home from work because I had a cold. Unless the student/employee is sick, generally they're expected to be at school/work. Given what I said above, I'm not confident many employers have given the matter much thought.

Right now, CDC guidelines say that coronavirus testing is reserved for people without recent travel or contact if they're having difficulty breathing that requires hospitalization. People with milder cases won't know if they have it because they can't get tested. So I predict that many people with milder cases will treat it as though it is "just a cold" and others in the household will continue to go to school and work, unless those places are closed temporarily, or the school or employer instructs them to stay home if anyone in the household is sick to any degree. It's an unfortunate situation, especially because of the risk it presents to higher risk groups. Keep those things in mind when making your decisions.

 

[gwraigty]

Full of female hormones.
Almond milk has Minimal nutritional value, 30 calories.

Ridiculous. I know you can pull up sources that claim the evils of soy milk just as I can pull up sources that debunk that. All of the non-dairy milks have some added nutrition. Though I still prefer dairy milk for my cooking and hot cocoa.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I just saw this on Reddit: "The head of the World Health Organisation has urged everyone over the age of 60 to avoid crowded areas including trains, buses and even supermarkets to prevent catching coronavirus."

https://inews.co.uk/news/health/wor...-chief-warning-elderly-crowded-places-2005411