Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 146

Thread: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,435

    Default Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    As you prepare for possible quarantine due to the Corona Virus outbreak, please remember to provide for you pets. They will need at least a few weeks of food and medication etc. I live in Southern California. Panic has set in here. Food has flown off the shelves, with very little of anything remaining. There are no staples of any kind left. No rice, beans, etc. Bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels, baby wipes, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer can not be found anywhere. Lines are very long at the grocery stores. People are grabbing whatever is left. It is practically impossible to get into Costco. You may not be experiencing these shortages yet. The higher the population, the bigger the panic and the bigger the need. However, being as prepared as possible is crucial.

    So, it is particularly important to provide for your pet during this difficult time globally. Pets with special dietary needs and allergies are especially vulnerable. My dog's specialty food is only available at one store locally. There are at least six other pet stores closer to me. Non of them carry it. I went out yesterday to pick up dog food, since I am running low. I was not going out on a mission to stock up. It was just time to pick up a bag. There was none left. Many shelves were empty. The manager called thru to four other stores before a bag was located. Please remember your fur babies as you continue to prepare for this current emergency,

    I hope all of you and your fur babies remain well and strong throughout this global pandemic.
    Last edited by Budsters Mom; 03-15-2020 at 11:20 AM.
    Kathy and Angel Buddy. The mightiest of all lizard hunters!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,304

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Kathy, thank you so much for posting this. The same thing has happened here in Atlanta over the last couple of days. The shift has been dramatic. As of the first of last week, supplies were beginning to be snapped up. By yesterday, it was panic-buying. I’d been trying to think of the things that hubby and I needed most, but suddenly thought about Luna and her dogfood! Yikes! That hadn’t occurred to me yet. I’ve got enough left for a couple of weeks, but I’d best try to track down some ASAP.

    To all our worldwide K9C family, please stay as safe and well as possible!!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,304

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Some of you may have seen this poem elsewhere. It is going viral right now (no pun included!), and with good reason. But I want to share it with all our family. For everyone, worldwide, who is struggling right now with the ramifications of “social distancing,” what a healing perspective this poem offers to us as we care for ourselves, and as we care for one another, in these challenging times.


    Pandemic

    What if you thought of it
    as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
    the most sacred of times?
    Cease from travel.
    Cease from buying and selling.
    Give up, just for now,
    on trying to make the world
    different than it is.
    Sing. Pray. Touch only those
    to whom you commit your life.
    Center down.

    And when your body has become still,
    reach out with your heart.
    Know that we are connected
    in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
    (You could hardly deny it now.)
    Know that our lives
    are in one another’s hands.
    (Surely, that has come clear.)
    Do not reach out your hands.
    Reach out your heart.
    Reach out your words.
    Reach out all the tendrils
    of compassion that move, invisibly,
    where we cannot touch.

    Promise this world your love–
    for better or for worse,
    in sickness and in health,
    so long as we all shall live.

    –Lynn Ungar 3/11/20

    http://www.lynnungar.com/

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,550

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Beautiful!
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Glen Cove, NY
    Posts
    1,942

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Same here on Long Island...crazy. Tomorrow I hope to stock up on the dogs meds and food. Didn't think of that either...

    My company has told us we can all work from home. So far only one case at the WeWork office where I work. I take four trains a day. How I have avoided it this far is astounding.
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,550

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    If you get your dog food on an automatic ship - check the pricing before it arrives. The dog food I am using for Bud and Sophie doubled in one week both on Chewy and Amazon. They were running low when I ordered last week and was only able to get a small bag so I checked to see if the larger bags were in yet and they were....at twice the usual price.

    Of the 7 people in my office only myself and one other believe the virus is real. This is all a hoax, hype, fake news, yada yada yada. (My SIL told me the same thing.) Yesterday I went in to finish a project before isolating myself since I am high risk and 3 people are there in our small office coughing their heads off...one admits she has fever and feels like crap. As I was leaving after finishing my project one of our clients who is an RN at our local hospital came in wearing a mask and gloves. She stopped just inside the door and asked everyone in the reception area to stay at least 6' away. Our receptionist, who does not believe and was one who was coughing, asked if she was sick and the woman said no but she wasn't taking any chances since she is working in the hospital on the front lines. She went on to tell us that what we are being told is false - that there are many many more cases of the virus in our state, county, and town than the official count claims which is 22. Our receptionist laughed but grabbed her hand sanitizer. My boss and the other two ladies who were in the area looked like this woman had just told them the world was ending in 5 minutes. All of a sudden it became real. Meanwhile all the coughing has spread who knows what to who knows how many people...they all went out to eat together at lunch and were talking about all the places they had been and the people they had been around over the weekend. I don't understand and don't think I ever will.
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    York, PA.
    Posts
    11,043

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    I live in York County, PA. we have had 6 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 in my County, a total of 370 coronavirus cases in PA., and two deaths have been reported in Pennsylvania, 1 was in Allegheny County which is 3 hours from where I live. This virus is awful.

    I am fine, been mostly home bound since this started, a couple trips to the grocery store and to see my Uncle whose wife just passed last Tuesday. My Uncle's wife was my Mom's sister and the last living sibling, cancer took her from us, she was 83 years old and they were married for 66 years, I will miss her so much.

    I've been tending my flower beds, pruning, and getting to those projects around the house that have been put off, trying to keep myself busy. My sweet boy Jax turned 1 year old February 26!! He is such a good boy, except when he's irritating the cat! So, what is everyone else doing to pass the time while home bound?

    Hugs to all, Lori

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,304

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Oh Addy, I know these are definitely not good days, but it’s still so good to hear from you. Please do keep updating us, and for sure I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you guys! And all our family!

    Well, we’ve completed our first full week of self-isolation. Fortunately, hubby has been able to shift pretty effectively to working from home. He has a new telephone headset on order from Amazon, because much of his work is now involving telephone communication. Luna and I like having him around. It’s especially comforting to me, because being the Queen of Worry that I am, he can at least help distract me, or shall we say, refocus me. “Don’t you think it would be better if you turned off the news for awhile?”

    Like everywhere else, we suffer from a dearth of sanitizing supplies. Early last week, there was a general run on groceries, too, and there are still holes but many stocks have now been resupplied. And yes, I even spotted some toilet paper back on the shelf yesterday! Aside from grocery store runs and walking Luna, I’m otherwise staying inside and puttering around the house. We’re not even seeing any friends during the next couple of weeks. There’s strangely a bit of physical calm that comes with the isolation, alongside the mental worry.

    I still miss my mom daily, but I’m so grateful that she’s spared this world crisis. We used to talk about all the challenges her generation — and she personally — faced. Losing the family farm and being penniless during the Great Depression, working as a nurse in the days before antibiotics, all the sacrifices and the long and uncertain separation from my dad during WWII, polio and other epidemics pre-vaccination, etc. I wondered whether my generation would have the moxie to stand up to any of those challenges. I still do. I sure hope so! I hope we can all pull together in a way that would make “The Greatest Generation” proud of us. But I *am* glad that my mom, herself, was spared this final worry.

    So that’s today’s report from Atlanta. Unsurprisingly, by far we’re reporting the most diagnosed cases of Corona in the state. I so wish the governor would issue a total state lockdown like California, but since he hasn’t so far, individual cities are starting to get more aggressive on their own. Restaurants, etc, are closed here, but I know that there are offices still open around me (I see cars in the parking lots as I drive by). But with the diagnosed cases and deaths escalating, I’m hoping there will be more complete closures coming this week. We shall see.

    Take care, everybody, and stay safe!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,550

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    This is long, so grab a cup of tea.

    According to the official Arkansas information, which I trust this much: _____, there are 118 positives, 154 under investigation, 501 being monitored, and 367 previously investigated who tested negative as of yesterday. Why don't I trust that information? Here is why -

    On Thurs, March 12th, my neighbor spent the day shopping with her only daughter. On Sat, the 14th, she spent the day shopping with her 2 nieces, by her daughter. Her daughter's new nephew, who works in a hospital the next county over, was exposed to the virus approximately 2 weeks ago and tested positive this past Monday, 3/16/20. He went to church and sat with his family, including my neighbor, the Sunday before, the 15th of March. Wed, the 18th, her daughter and son-in-law, were quarantined, as was the niece who is married to the fellow who tested positive. The other niece, none of the members of their church, none of the friends who had been over to his house, nor my neighbor have been quarantined. And according to my neighbor none of them have even been contacted by health officials for any reason. Most of them continue to work, shop, and gather at church.

    One of our new neighbors doesn't have a TV capable of watching the news; he is very poor and has an old analog TV he uses to watch movies on. He doesn't have a radio nor a vehicle that would have a radio. Yesterday he came over to another neighbor's house to inform them they needed to get to the store and stock up because there was a very bad virus going around. He had just learned about it from a family member he had called to ask them to bring him some groceries and supplies. He was stunned to say the least. Several of us had been wondering about his behavior because people have been in and out of his house daily at all hours of the day and night. Day before yesterday 5 vehicles were parked at his place with 4-5 people literally crawling over each other as they worked on 2 of the trucks. Were none of them aware of the virus either? How many other people who I see out and about as if oblivious actually are as oblivious as our new neighbor?

    In talking to doctors and nurses in my state they all say, to a man/woman, that what we are being told is false...that there are many, many more cases in our state that have tested positive and countless others who show every indication of having the virus but can't, and won't, be tested because they don't fit the CDC guidelines. Quite a few of those cases are their coworkers and peers.

    Our Governor is an idiot who until just the last 3-4 days has been telling the residents here than the virus was contained in ARK - that all our cases stemmed from the original case in Pine Bluff and that all those contacts had been tracked down and quarantined. Further, there had been no spread of the virus from out of state or other sources, in spite of the fact that we have an international airport in Little Rock with connections in NY, CA, WA to name a few. On March the 13th he announced that Walmart parking lots across the state would have drive-thru testing centers...there is no sign that is going to happen. He has failed to close nonessential establishments still as of yesterday. Bars and restaurants were all open until the 19th, but hotels and motels are still in business as are all the private clubs, lake resorts and their private restaurants, bars, etc. Salons, cigarette stores, liquor stores, etc. are to operate or not as they deem best. Those closed bars and restaurants? They can now change their useage to anything such as selling groceries, alcohol, etc. in order to remain open. Most daycares remain open tho all our schools are closed until mid April at least. I dog sit to help supplement my income and everyone of my bookings has cancelled plans with the exception of one who is coming tomorrow. They are staying at one of those lake resorts and trust the establishment there to have a virus free environment....even tho people from all over the country come to those resorts starting this time of year. This baby is my last booking for a while and they were given explicit instructions for dropping her and her things off and for picking her up. Not only can I not risk exposure I can't be party to helping others be exposed to and spread the virus. OH! and that original case in Pine Bluff? He is no longer mentioned and the official reports now say the first official case was in Fayetteville on 3/18/20, seven days later, which is in the northern part of the state while Pine Bluff is in the southern part.

    Yeah, my confidence level is very high, she said sarcastically.

    As for the state of things around here, it is the same as elsewhere. The grocery shelves in Kroger where I shop are mostly empty and the products that do come in have increased in price. I was lucky enough to be in the store when the bread I like was delivered. What used to cost around $2.50 a loaf is now almost $4.00. There is no flour, baking powder or soda, no sugar or yeast, or dry milk for making your own bread...a few small bags of corn meal were all that was available. At first, fresh produce is what was all out of stock but that seems to have changed and there were plenty of fresh veggies and fruits in the bins. There are no chicken parts nor ground chicken, no ground nor roast beef, no pork chops, shoulders or roasts. A few high end cuts of beef, a little bison and lamb were all that was in the meat department. Some fish was left, mostly salmon, sword fish, and tuna. Interestingly, the only frozen seafoods that were left were those products sourced in China, which I have refused to purchase since the melamine dog food poisoning in 2007. The selections for lunch meats and hot dogs was limited as well. Some canned sardines, mackerel, herring, and very little canned tuna were on the shelf; no canned chicken, and one can of turkey spam was left. Frozen veggies were getting slim as were all the frozen pizzas and meals but not one single package of chicken nuggets, etc that many kids like to eat. No soups except for the ones that cost $2.00 a can and up, and those selections were limited. Maybe 50 cans total of canned veggies were on the shelf. One bag of brown rice was left, no white rice but several options for gourmet rice products like Jasmine, Basmati, Arborio, Black, and Wild Grain. A few pastas like elbow macaroni and spaghetti were available as were Bow Tie, Linguini, and Penne but all the Rotini was gone. There were some egg noodles left but most of them were whole grain. The pastas made from lentils and chickpeas were still plenty available. Maybe 6 jars of prepared pasta sauce left. No paper products at all with the exception of one lonely, beat up box of Kleenex which I grabbed gratefully. There were a few packages of baby wipes available but diapers seemed to be well stocked. Very little milk, sour cream, eggs or cheese left but there seemed to be plenty of yogurt. On every shelf a sign had been taped that asked shoppers to limit their purchases to 2 items...some to one item such as the nonexistent TP and paper towels. Oddly enough there were plenty of chips, cookies, nuts, Cokes (brand), and candy available as were vitamins and such, including cold and flu OTC products. The pharmacy, which typically opens at 7AM, was still closed at 9AM....they were running out of medications when I picked up my latest prescription on the 16th.

    Yes, I spent way too much time walking around the store in my mask (purchased in 2015 for yard work) and gloves, which I always have on hand, in an astounded daze looking at the state of my once well-stocked store.

    I tried to do the grocery pick up from both Kroger and WalMart but before I could finish selecting items, the ones I had already put in my cart were changed to "out of stock". Paper and OTC products are in-store purchases only. Pick-up dates are a week out.

    The WalMart in the next town over was closed for a day because of shoppers fighting over items. Thankfully I haven't seen any ugliness when I've been out but several instances of goodness and kindness instead such as one lady pulling canned veggies out of her cart and putting the into the cart of an elderly lady who was staring at the empty shelves as if she were lost.

    I'm not worried about food for myself at this point but I am for my dogs. Some folk have called me a dog food snob and I accept that title gladly. But I just ordered a much lower quality food than I would typically use for my babies from Amazon because it was all they had that I could afford. Chewy is out of my range on everything they had in stock that I looked at and the pet stores here are running out of stock...what they do have has doubled or tripled in cost as well. My last trip to Kroger most of my purchases were on fresh veggies I can cook to supplement the dog food they do have trying to stretch it out as much as possible. I had some chicken breasts in the freezer already so I added those to their mix.

    As for TP in my home, I told Glynda that due to IBS my normal TP purchase for the month looks like panic buying to start with. I wasn't really concerned until this latest trip to Kroger. My month is running out as is my month's supply and I am not at all confident things will have improved by the time it does. I have been taking steps to limit use every way I can when at all possible and that has allowed me to have a bit more than I normally would at this point in the month but that extra bit is soon going to be gone. I have been eyeing my stock of plastic grocery bags with a new eye the last few days. In addition, I am trying to flush as little as possible. With around 100 homes in our mobile home park and 90% of those families home now, including children, I foresee major sewer issues in our future. Not only from the extra TP going thru the pipes but from some folk flushing things they shouldn't - like Kleenex, paper towels, wipes, etc. So as Kathy said, creativity is the name of the game these days!

    Now I will leave you with a funny conversation I had with one of our former members named Louise, Munchie's mom. She told me about the husband of one of her girlfriends who came out of the bathroom where he had been preparing to go to town with 2 sanitary napkins taped over his mouth since he hadn't been able to find any masks...and he was serious! In our discussion about the TP shortage, I told her my garden hose was charged; only one neighbor might be able to see me and if he did he could not use my hose! She said if she couldn't get any TP she was just gonna go scoot across her neighbors lawn like a dog.

    Ya'll take care of yourselves because you are all much to precious to risk.
    Hugs,
    Leslie

    PS....Addy, sore throats are not allowed among this family! Please let us know how you are doing when you can.
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,435

    Default Re: Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

    Hey Lori, I want to spend the night at your house! Sounds like a blast! Having a precious little one around makes everything better! Keep us posted, okay?
    Kathy and Angel Buddy. The mightiest of all lizard hunters!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •