Covid-19 Shopping: physical separation and safety issues

The media hype seems to be creating a self fulfilling prophesy for panic buying.

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Optimism vs The Australian Government?

Shortages initially due to increases in demand followed by an inability to supply look very threatening for consumers, and the broader economy. At least there appears to be some options available to minimise the economic pain, but for consumers with loans to pay?

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Frozen will be better than tinned if one is after freshness or retention of nutrients. Frozen could also be better than fresh, where fresh isnā€™t so fresh.

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Sure. Assuming you have a reasonably sized freezer. I only have the Freezer thats contained in the fridge and its already full of meat, peas, beans and bread. Other frozen veg are usually revolting. Anyway, didnt make it to the supermarket, just could not get my act together today.

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FOMO is real. As we see daily motivation often comes not from fact but from belief. Belief is much more communicable than viruses.

The manufacturers are doing their best to cash in on the boom. There will be a serious slump in buying once the pantries are full. If the economy does take a substantial hit, as predicted by many, will the slump coincide and double the effect in the short term? If I was on the dunny roll production line I would be banking my overtime not spending it.

I saw a roll of Sorbent advertised on social media for $1,000,000. Lacking a bidet or space for one I was thinking of the system used by the ancient Roman army who had made latrines in their permanent camps, often with running water but not with toilet paper, of a sponge on a stick. Thereā€™s an opportunity for those manufacturers who are feeling the pinch.

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Can I use the one I use to wash the car? :thinking:

Itā€™s sitting week in Canberra. Hope they have assured their supply. :rofl:

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Thank you Mr Interlocutor,

I suggest you have two and label them.

{Bones}

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FWIW, I find that Dehydrated Peas are
better than frozen, more tender as the outer skin hasnā€™t been made tough by
freezing.
Can be added straight to soups and stews or boiled to be served on its own.
The biggest advantage is that it doesnā€™t take up space in the freezer :slightly_smiling_face:

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I havenā€™t used them for decades. A good thought though, for emergency rations.

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I suspect things (panic, irrational buying of stuff etc) arenā€™t really going to get under way for at least a couple more weeks with regard to COVID-19, as there are currently very few cases in Oz.

Iā€™m not really planning on doing much in the immediate future with regard food purchases, as I have a freezer full of trout and a load of pumpkins, grammas, capsicums, beans etc, and more trout in the aquaponics. I did order some dried foods from an online store this week, but only because Iā€™ve just about run out of things like flour for bread making, lentils and rice, my last order being in late 2019.

I donā€™t buy any food sourced from China, and unless people are going to try to stockpile fresh fruit and veg, I see no real reason for major shortages there.

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One must congratulate the global media for creating an utterly absurd and unreasonable degree of panic throughout the world. The chances of succumbing to this virus are in credibly small. By comparison, over 16,000 people died in the US last year from influenza.

Yes, we have a virus that is potentially lethal, but if we look beyond the screaming headlines of the media circus, the majority of victims had pre-existing medical conditions that increased the risk substantially. We should do what we can to protect the frail and elderly, but the hysteria and panic the irresponsible reporting has created is utterly disproportionate to the real risk to the average healthy citizen.

The real ā€œvirusā€ in this circumstance is the hysteria driven by a media feeding frenzy, each organisation screaming louder than the other for your attention and increase in advertising revenue.

ALL media is a business, and when panic ensues, business is good. The real alarm is how easily and profoundly these businesses incite people to act irrationally.

That frightens me more than any case of the flu.

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And yet, there are some of us who are at risk, having multiple medical co-morbidities and being (god I hate to use this word) elderly. I wont panic buy but I am intent on prepping, just in case.

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With expertise suggesting it could affect between 25% and 70% of Australians over the coming 12-18 months, is that low risk?

Prof Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity program at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, said sustained transmission may result in anywhere from a quarter to 70% of the Australian population being infected. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/australian-doctors-warn-of-overwhelmed-public-health-system-in-event-of-coronavirus-pandemic

The virus has massive potential for disruption and impact on the economy. If we prepare too little or late the outcome may be the worst of possibilities.

Hopefully the more extreme reactions calm. Our leadership has a role to play there?

P.S.
You are welcome to do the sums on the current mortality rate. Or perhaps the Previous noted report.

ā€œIf 50% of Australians ā€“ 13 million people ā€“ became infected that is up to 400,000 people dying, almost 2 million people needing a hospital bed and 650,000 people needing an ICU bed.

A few zeroes too many in all of these numbers, and hopefully never realised.

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You cannot blame the media for reporting. I went in yesterday and zero rice, almost no pasta, no flour, no paper towels, no toilet paper and hardly any tissues.

Almost no paracetamol left, managed to get one packet as I only had a few tablets left at home

Tinned food, crackers, salt, vinegar and dry goods were low on stock.

Many are already selling toilet paper on ebay. one person is selling a used roll for a few hundred dollars.

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Which suggests they normally re-use it themselves- why else would they have it on a roll?

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And I repeatā€¦we must do what is necessary to protect the vulnerable. Which means fit and healthy people should calm down and assist those at most risk to avoid infection.

This includes NOT panic buying and potentially depriving those at most need from safety and prevention.

As to the dire warnings of academics, take them with a grain of salt. These are the same boffins that told us SARS was a threat to humanity. Anything for their precious 15 minutes of fame.

By the way, be wary of ANYTHING that the agenda driven Guardian has to say.

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Possibly no different to a bad flu season at worst.

When it does come to Australia, it will be important to protect those who it may impact on the mostā€¦namely those with weak or compromised immune systems and the frail elderly. Most of the population (~95%) wonā€™t be significantly impacted by the virus.

If the Chief Medical Officer does its job properly, there should be no significant economic impact. If the decision making and policy setting are wrong, then there could be an impact.

There are current impacts which is more about supply chain issues from China (which is why toilet paper is walking out of supermarkets as (social) media incorrectly thinks all our rolls come from Middle Earth), in the prevent spread phase of the epidemic. As it has spreadā€¦and experts indicate that it now canā€™t be contained, it is likely things will return a normal setting soon. The only difference is there is another flu like disease amongst the population.

It wonā€™t be an Armageddon future like one could deduce from media reports, but a discomfort to most who come down with the virus. Like the flu, the very elderley and weak are most at risk of complications.

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people sell https://twitter.com/simonbrowning12/status/1234987122106331136/photo/1

Can somebody bring me toilet paper? (Yes, Iā€™m joking) That said, I only have 3 rolls, so I hope theres something on the shelf tomorrow.

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