With recommendations that people self quarantine for 14 days in the event they come into contact with Coronavirus, how prepared are you?
Personally, this isn't something that I've ever given much thought to. Being prepared to my mind was more about natural disasters, not something Northern Ireland is known for, than sickness.
With that said I've been thinking about it a lot recently and have decided that having something on hand makes sense. I'm aiming to have plenty of rice and beans with a good supply of vitamins. Most definitely not panic buying, but I feel it's a sensible precaution.
Likewise, I've got a solid supply of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Those are items that I've read tend to run low very quickly
How about you, do you have a plan of action or any food already stored in the event you need to remain inside for two weeks or longer? How would you spend the time?
Well, we in the UK have seen the ridiculous panic buying at the start of what is laughingly called a lock down. Lock downs mean troops on the street and papers required to allow movement. It has never been like that here, unlike France and other continental countries.
Having said that the general response from the public has been very good, our parks and other places of attraction have been virtually deserted, roads are empty at times when there would be traffic delays. Admittedly this has been largely due to the closing of non essential businesses, schools, other services and sports events. Hell, even the Queen has insisted that there be no official celebrations of her birthday like the usual Trooping of the Colour and firing of guns from The Tower of London. No museums, galleries, no restaurants or cafes, NO PUBS!
There have been the odd idiots who don't think it should include them, house parties of 25+ including professional DJ and sound systems and fireworks. Police broke these up and fined the ringleaders. Fining is a pretty soft way of dealing with dangerous idiots like them as young children were present.
As for panic buying that's done with now, even toilet rolls and canned (Italian) tomatoes are available but some vegetables in scarce supply as they come from Spain.
I think two things MUST come out of this.
Firstly, China MUST be punished for the source of the outbreak due entirely to filthy unhygienic conditions in street markets. Killing dogs and snakes and pangolins and all kinds of animals in brutally cruel ways in the most filthy site even after the outbreak of SARS and other viruses. Today, literally today foreign eyewitnesses have seen these markets open yet again with no improvement to hygiene.
Will the world have to endure further lethal outbreaks because the Chinese exhibit disgusting unacceptable behaviour? The answer is obviously no, so world leaders have to show backbone and discuss what they intend to do about them. But they need to remember that it's the rest of the world that holds the power not China. It's the world that uses China as a cheap source of manufacturing and the world should it turn to other more responsible countries bankrupt China virtually overnight.
Secondly. The world must be fully prepared for future outbreaks.
That means over production of all types of PPE, centrally stored and ready. Likewise adequate temporary hospital facilities need to be built and ready for the inevitable outbreaks of the future.