Public Health: Tips and information on how to prepare for the epidemic, avoid illness and protect our communities.

This is not a political thread, though politics impacts on it greatly. This is a thread to collect reliable sources of information on how to prepare and protect yourself, family and community from the spread of the Cov19 virus.
News articles, Youtube videos and websites of a practical and useful nature are welcome, as is occasional humor, to lift spirits and disperse fear, gallows humor included.
Everybody has good ideas and tips, let's share a few and discuss their merits and drawbacks, let's help each other on this thread, we're all in it together.

This thread is about protecting yourself, family, community and country from the worse effects of this pandemic, most people will get this novel disease, it spreads quickly and easily. The important thing is to slow the spread of the illness through out our communities so the medical system can cope and not become overwhelmed, this is important to keep the local hospitalization rate down. When people start seeing their neighbors lined up outside hospitals and some dying in line on the local TV news, then you'll see panic, fear and a lot of death too. It's time for individual responsibility and action and also one of organizing and community effort, volunteers might have to be organized to care for the elderly for instance. For many their hearts will draw them out their door and into danger, to help, you'll see a lot of heros and a few cowards too.

I keep a squirt bottle of 91% alcohol handy and mist anything that's questionable.

I've even misted myself from head to toe!
Feels kinda refreshing

The store was completely wiped out of hand sanitizer this morning and I need to have something in my work truck. I am in and out of many business touching door handles, paperwork and using random ink pens to sign paperwork all day.

I just bought 2 quarts of 91% isopropyl alcohol and a little $1.99 spray bottle instead to have in my truck

So there's an option for those that can't find hand sanitizer

I'm gonna start picking up my groceries early in the morning when the place is nearly empty and the virus has a chance to die overnight. I'm also gonna buy more when I'm there and go a lot less frequently. There's a hand sanitizer station by the shopping carts and I pick up a cart, slather my hands down and wipe lots of excess all over the plastic cart handle. I wash my hands when I get home and after I put the groceries away.

blu3bird said:

The store was completely wiped out of hand sanitizer this morning and I need to have something in my work truck. I am in and out of many business touching door handles, paperwork and using random ink pens to sign paperwork all day.

I just bought 2 quarts of 91% isopropyl alcohol and a little $1.99 spray bottle instead to have in my truck

So there's an option for those that can't find hand sanitizer

Click to expand...

Someone might suggest where you can find some, it's around and easy to make so supplies should be available soon. Look online for DIY solutions. @TacoMac mentioned his wife found a supply on another thread.

This is one of those rare instances where social media has a positive effect on society, it keeps the most socially mobile and active among us, younger people at home and away from face to face contact in public. Even if you don't like social media much like me (except here among old potheads), learn to like it and texting too, it might save us from the worse effects of this plague. Everybody might be spending a lot of quality time at home, so prepare on all levels, but avoid face to face as much as you can, WASH YOUR FUCKING HANDS too and DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE or PICK YOUR NOSE! (for the Trumpers)

blu3bird said:

The store was completely wiped out of hand sanitizer this morning and I need to have something in my work truck. I am in and out of many business touching door handles, paperwork and using random ink pens to sign paperwork all day.

I just bought 2 quarts of 91% isopropyl alcohol and a little $1.99 spray bottle instead to have in my truck

So there's an option for those that can't find hand sanitizer

Click to expand...

The 91% strength will dry and crack your hands pretty quickly. What people are doing is diluting it with ~1/3 aloe vera gel. That will moisturize your hands and make the iso go further.

The CDC says iso based hand sanitizers should be at least 60% iso to be effective. That's where the 1/3 comes in. Actually it's a little less with 91. But in the ballpark.

COVID-19: What You Might Need If You're Quarantined at Home
Despite what you might see others doing, there's no need to hoard supplies for an extended stay at home

COVID-19: What You Might Need If You're Quarantined at Home
Consumer Reports explains how to prepare if you're quarantined at home due to coronavirus. There's no need to hoard supplies for an extended stay at home.
www.consumerreports.org

COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China, is now spreading in certain communities in the U.S.

Some people are trying to limit their contact with crowds by spending more time at home. And as public health officials scramble to limit the spread of the virus, many Americans who have been exposed to COVID-19 have been asked to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days. Eventually, whole communities may be under similar restrictions, which is what happened in parts of Italy and China.

“We ask for people’s patience and understanding, and most importantly their cooperation,” Nancy Messonnier, M.D., director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a recent press briefing. “Right now, individual actions can have an important impact on how this situation plays out. You may need to take a break from your normal daily routine.”

That sort of break isn't all bad, says Emily He, a writer who lives in Cambridge, Mass., but was in China visiting family for Chinese New Year and has been unable to travel far from her mother’s apartment since Jan. 25. “Think about things you've been meaning to catch up on, and make a list,” He suggests.
more...

greg nr said:

The 91% strength will dry and crack your hands pretty quickly. What people are doing is diluting it with ~1/3 aloe vera gel. That will moisturize your hands and make the iso go further.

The CDC says iso based hand sanitizers should be at least 60% iso to be effective. That's where the 1/3 comes in. Actually it's a little less with 91. But in the ballpark.

Click to expand...

I've got a big bottle of Aloe Vera gel and lots of iso alcohol, thanks!

DIY-HP-LED said:

I've got a big bottle of Aloe Vera gel and lots of iso alcohol, thanks!

Click to expand...

My wife has been giving me a hard time about getting a few supplies. so I felt guilty when I ordered 6 bottles of 91% off amazon for less than $10 delivered. A lifetime supply to be sure, but I do use it in the garden to clean scissors and wipe down surfaces, so it will get used eventually..

Not guilty enough to not order it. Hell, at least I didn't get 12 bottles of 99%; it was about the same price. Go figure.

blu3bird said:

The store was completely wiped out of hand sanitizer this morning and I need to have something in my work truck. I am in and out of many business touching door handles, paperwork and using random ink pens to sign paperwork all day.

I just bought 2 quarts of 91% isopropyl alcohol and a little $1.99 spray bottle instead to have in my truck

So there's an option for those that can't find hand sanitizer

Click to expand...

I believe 50% strength is even more effective than full strength for sanitizing and even drinking! I like the Aloe Vera idea for a DIY solution, but I think production will ramp up quickly.

DIY-HP-LED said:

I believe 50% strength is even more effective than full strength for sanitizing and even drinking! I like the Aloe Vera idea for a DIY solution, but I think production will ramp up quickly.

Click to expand...

I agree, with hand sanitizer it is temporary since the ingredients are sourced here in the US or mexico. One industry we kept was petro......

Masks are largely sourced in China. 3M does make some, but they were aimed at industrial/construction markets and they will have to ramp up capacity which will take time.

Anything electronic, and most precursor chemicals for drugs come from china and will be impacted.

greg nr said:

My wife has been giving me a hard time about getting a few supplies. so I felt guilty when I ordered 6 bottles of 91% off amazon for less than $10 delivered. A lifetime supply to be sure, but I do use it in the garden to clean scissors and wipe down surfaces, so it will get used eventually..

Not guilty enough to not order it. Hell, at least I didn't get 12 bottles of 99%; it was about the same price. Go figure.

Click to expand...

Use it to make oil from trim for using in edibles (if you survive), ya just need a cheap rice cooker outside for a half an hour to reduce it enough to cook with. Wash the trim with cold alcohol and let it sit in the sun for an hour to get the green out.

DIY-HP-LED said:

Use to make oil for edibles from trim (if you survive), ya just need a cheap rice cooker outside for a half an hour to reduce it enough to cook with. Wash the trim with cold alcohol and let it sit in the sun for an hour to get the green out.

Click to expand...

Anything edible I use grain alcohol. Iso is not a good thing to ingest.

But I have some decarbed flower and trim soaking in iso right now for a batch of hand sanitizer. I'm going to leave it green. Pretty color.

I was asked to repost this by the OP from another thread.
----------------
Really doubt we would lock down cities like China. The real problem is if things get squirrely people will buy up shit and you will have a hard time finding what you need. I am just coming off a lousy cold. Eat healthy? Heck just manage to eat. Found my munchies did not go too far. Stocked up on essentials. Have cans of coffee, buy them on sale. But needed coffee whitener, bought an extra one. Bread in the fridge, one loaf in the freezer. Another might be a good idea. Toilet paper, even bought a big bag without it being on sale.

My guess is we will just have to self isolate when we get the virus, so minimum get through two weeks. No hand sanitizer, I don't like the stuff but I can see people using it, especially with kids, I live alone. I prefer soap and water. Worked in a hospital and part of what I did was maintain isolation rooms, stuff you need to protect yourself from or protect the patient from bringing in bugs. A little concerned with people buying up the masks. The normal surgical masks will do nothing to help you but if you have something they will catch droplets. That is its job, protecting others.

The ones to protect yourself, N95 masks, use them if you do not have the bug but you are caring for someone who has it. They are talking a shortage of these. The people who need them are hospital staff, people in close contact with infectious people. You will run out of healthy people to care for the sick if the staff do not have their protective equipment. One thing I learned to do while working in the hospital, don't touch my nose or eyes unless my hands were washed. People are used to touching their face, got an itch, whatever. Rather than use my hand I would use my shoulder, don't sneeze on your hands but rather into your sleeve (to protect others). Basically being retrained to have habits that limit the spread of diseases.

Not really hording related but these are things that will help people avoid getting the virus. And if you get it you need to get through two weeks without the outside world if you do not want to help spread it. I think I can manage two weeks no problem. I really would like a bag of chips by now though.
----------------

I think the home made hand sanitizer is a good idea. I do think it should be 60% from the stuff we used in the hospital.

Those who want a mask will need to have an industrial N95 or better, they generally come in 3 sizes and if you don't have a proper fit test it's pretty well useless for protecting you. These masks must be reserved for those dealing with sick people, both professionals and those at home, don't buy one unless you need one, others first. If you are infected or suspect you might be, wear a regular dust mask or a DIY solution to protect others and stay away from other people like you have the plague, you might.

We aren't getting any level of truth out of this admin. You have to look further to find information you need......

Official: White House didn't want to tell seniors not to fly
Source: AP

NEW YORK (AP) — The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan. Trump administration officials have since suggested certain people should consider not traveling, but they have stopped short of the stronger guidance sought by the CDC.

The person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity did not have authorization to talk about the matter. The person did not have direct knowledge about why the decision to kill the language was made.

On Friday, the CDC quietly updated its website to tell older adults and people with severe medical conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds. It urges those people to “take actions to reduce your risk of exposure,” but it doesn’t specifically address flying.

Read more: https://apnews.com/921ad7f1f08d7634bf681ba785faf269?utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

U.S. airport screeners, health workers plagued by fear and anger as coronavirus spreads
John Shiffman, Marisa Taylor, Joseph Tanfani
9 MIN READ

(Reuters) - As coronavirus cases exploded across the world, federal medical workers tasked with screening incoming passengers at U.S. airports grew alarmed: Many were working without the most effective masks to protect them from getting sick themselves.

Screeners with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked their supervisors this week to change official protocols and require stronger masks, according to an internal document reviewed by Reuters. On Friday evening, they learned their worst fears were realized: Two screeners, both working at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), had tested positive for the virus.

“Sad news,” a senior quarantine official at the CDC wrote in an email Friday evening to colleagues about the two workers. The email, reviewed by Reuters and not previously reported, said the two screeners will be quarantined until March 17. “Let us keep our colleagues at LAX in our thoughts.”

The news was not surprising to some CDC screeners.

“It was bound to happen,” said a veteran CDC medical official involved with screening who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They are assuring us we are safe. If we were safe, screeners would not be getting sick.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-workers-insight/u-s-airport-screeners-health-workers-plagued-by-fear-and-anger-as-coronavirus-spreads-idUSKBN20V00T

The people running the white house are fucking incompetent and dangerous...................

Excellent article on the Coronavirus COVID-19. Very understandable and informative.

COVID-19: What we know so far about the 2019 novel coronavirus
March 6, 2020

UChicago Medicine

Written By
Emily Landon, MD

A contagious respiratory disease that was first detected in China in December 2019 has spread worldwide. The 2019 novel (new) coronavirus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes is called coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19.

Although health officials here and abroad are working to track and contain the growing epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expects widespread transmission of COVID-19 in our country.

As an infectious disease specialist and hospital epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, my job is to prepare for outbreaks such as COVID-19 while caring for patients at our academic medical center on Chicago’s South Side.

The extent of this outbreak is rapidly evolving and risk assessment changes daily, but here’s what we know about COVID-19 as of today:

What is a coronavirus? What is a novel coronavirus?
A coronavirus is the name for a large set of illnesses, including the common cold and other respiratory infections. The term “novel” coronavirus means it’s a new form of the virus.

Where and how did COVID-19 begin?
We learned about this particular virus shortly after a cluster of severe pneumonia cases were reported on New Year’s Eve 2019 in Wuhan, which is in the Hubei Province of China. On January 9, virologists and other public health researchers identified the strain as a novel coronavirus, which was tied to a specific “wet market” in the city of Wuhan, where they sell fish and other live animals.

These markets have been known to transmit viruses before. For cultural reasons in the region, people want to see the specific animals they’re buying be slaughtered in front of them, so they know they’re receiving the products they paid for. As a result, particles of infectious viruses or bacteria can be aerosolized and, in rare instances, jump from animals to people. It’s how SARS, another coronavirus, started in 2003.

How did the virus come to the United States?
The first known patients in the U.S. contracted the virus while traveling in other countries or after exposure to someone who had been to China or one of the other affected areas. But now, a few cases here cannot be traced to these risk factors. This is concerning because it suggests the illness may be spreading across communities for which the source of infection is unknown, which we call community spread/transmission. We don’t know how severe this will be, but it may cause significant disruptions in our daily lives.

How does the COVID-19 spread?
This virus is really transmissible and can spread easily from person to person even before a person develops symptoms. It’s carried on respiratory droplets when we talk, sneeze, and cough and these can land on surfaces or in someone’s mouth or nose. When it comes to respiratory droplets, 6 feet is the magic distance. That’s how far these tiny, infected droplets can travel. Being within 6 feet of someone who is sick can get you or your personal space contaminated with COVID-19.

When droplets land on surfaces, we can pick them up with our hands and transfer them to our eyes, mouth, and nose when we touch our faces. This is why hand hygiene is so important. Respiratory secretions (like snot and sputum) are also infectious so cover your coughs and sneezes.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19? Is it deadly?
It typically causes flu-like symptoms. Some patients — particularly the elderly and others with other chronic health conditions — develop a severe form of pneumonia.

Patients develop symptoms like fever, muscle and body aches, cough, and sore throat about 5-6 days after infection. Most people will feel pretty miserable for a week and get better on their own. Some people won’t get as sick, but it’s still important not to be out and about, so as not to spread the disease. A minority of patients will get worse instead of better. This usually happens after 5-7 days of illness and these patients will have more shortness of breath and worsening cough. If this happens, it’s time to contact your doctor again or even go to an emergency room. Be sure to call first so they know you are coming.

The numbers of people who have been diagnosed and how many have died are changing daily. As of early March, there have been over 97,000 confirmed cases, with a death toll of about 3,000 (more than 2,900 in mainland China). But these numbers are just estimates; it’s still unclear how many people have actually been infected worldwide. Most of the deaths have been in adults over 60 years old who had other health concerns.

More>>>>> https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/prevention-and-screening-articles/wuhan-coronavirus

Shit, I really am almost out of toilet paper and will soon have to buy a couple of packages, oh the embarrassment! Think I'll go early in the morning and minimise my shame...