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With the amount of spread that COVID-19 is having, there has been a lot of talk worldwide about numerous regions going into Quarantine. This has some folks worried.
There has been a lot of panic buying going on here recently everywhere, not just here in the states either. You have probably seen the fight’s breaking out over everyday items such as toilet paper and bottled water.
First of all this is just insane, I have yet to see any reports that this virus will cause any Gastrointestinal complications. So there is no need to purchase 10 packs of toilet paper. There are a lot of stores starting to control the amount of items that can be purchased.
The Government has stated several time’s over the last few month’s that everyone needs to have at least 2 week’s worth of food on hand. This has been bumped up from the usual 2 days of supplies that they have stated in previous years.
- What exactly is a Quarantine?
- What should I do before the Quarantine my area?
- Dealing with young kids.
- What about pets?
- Should we bug out?
- Entertainment!
- Do I think a Quarantine is coming to the US?
What exactly is a Quarantine?
There is a difference between lock down and a Quarantine.
A Quarantine is where you are isolated from other’s.
A lock down implies that you can still somewhat mingle but you can not leave the region or area.
There are currently both put in place in different area’s worldwide.
Currently there are places where folk’s can still go to work and the store, but they can not travel outside of the locked down area.
What should I do before they Quarantine my area?
You never really know how long one will last, so you need to have as much food and supplies stocked up as you can.
One thing to consider is that as it is currently, if we were to go under Quarantine, people that work in power plant’s water treatment facilities and water utility worker’s would be required to keep thing’s running.
So you should still have water running to your residence. But you should also stock up on water just in case. I’m not sure if things like trash service will still be running. I don’t think that is considered to be an essential job.
Dealing with young kids!
We have two young children, both boys. One is three years old and the other is just over 3 months old.
With our youngest, he obviously wear’s diapers. We use reusable diapers for him, mainly just around the house, when we go out and about we use disposable diaper’s. But if you can stock up on reusable diapers that will help reduce the waste that pile’s up.
We also have stocked up on can’s of formula, which if you buy the big jugs, you can save more money in the long run. Formula can be very expensive! But if you have young kids and make under a certain amount, the state can help you out with formula. We however don’t qualify for it, so it get’s pricey.
With our oldest boy he is in pull up’s, he is reluctant to potty train, so we have made sure to have some stocked up, more than usual. He doesn’t eat baby food anymore so we just make sure that we have extra food for him as he still need’s plenty of calories.
What about pets?
You should also have some food stocked up for them as well. You should have a pretty good idea of how much food your pets go through each week, so you’ll want to make sure you can have at least 2 week’s worth of pet food.
I prefer about a month’s worth, but my cat doesn’t eat a lot. Years ago when we had a bunch of dog’s and cat’s we would have large trash barrels with the lid’s and we would just cycle the food through them.
I don’t suggest doing this if you don’t go through a lot of feed because this can cause the food to go bad. The bags the food come in are specially made for preserving the food.
Should we bug out?
I’m not a fan of bugging out in general, but once a Quarantine as started, that time has passed.
If you live in a major city, or even a small town. You may just encounter riot’s when everyone runs out of food because they failed to prepare.
I currently live about 45 minute’s Northwest of Columbus, Oh. Even though I live so close to a major city, I won’t be bugging out. Mostly because there just isn’t anywhere for us to go.
There are over 2 million people in the metro area. There are a lot of folks on government assistance, and limited income’s. I doubt many people will be prepared for this.
If you consider bugging out as your best option, then you should keep a close eye on what it going on and leave before it happens.
Entertainment!
This is probably the last thing on your mind, but if you think about it. What will you be doing when you can no longer leave your house?
Sure you can use Netflix or Hulu to pass time but you’ll quickly run out of things to watch. You could get more subscription services but how about getting some board games, or a deck of card’s?
We have Phase 10, it is fun, especially with more than just 2 players. Just make sure you have a notebook to keep track of the scores.
Another interesting card game is the Conflicted card game. Although I’m not sure how entertaining that would be when you’re living it, but it could help open your mind to what you can do.
Dominoes are fun, but I haven’t played with them in year’s. I like to play solitaire when I’m by myself or war when I’m not alone.
Do I think a Quarantine is coming to the US?
Well, we have already had some spots on lock down and quarantine. If you look at China or Italy and some other’s, they enacted quarantines to help slow the spread.
As it is right now all of the schools here in Ohio will be closed for 3 week’s. I’ve seen other states closing down their schools as well.
Wal-Mart has recently changed their operating hours from 0600-2300 if I remember correctly, so it doesn’t look like they will be open 24 hours now. This starts Sunday night I think. This will help them keep the shelve’s stocked.
I have seen where those hauling household good’s and medical supplies here in Ohio have had the Hours of Service suspended to help keep things stocked.
In some area’s they have had to have police escort load’s to the store’s to prevent theft.
I feel the media is really creating fear in people, but I also feel that this virus is something to not take lightly.
It was really going after older folk’s with underlying health issues, but in recent week’s it has been attacking more young adult’s and kids alike.
I think that a nationwide Quarantine could help slow the spread of the virus.
If you look at Italy for example, they have been overloaded with cases and because of that, many more people have died because of not being able to get care.
If they can slow the spread, then they can save more live’s, because the hospitals won’t be over capacity.
There have been doctors being brought out of retirement in numerous countries to help with the situation.
I feel that it is just a matter of time before we might face something similar, it could be local, regional or national. Either way you should really consider the fact that life as we know it might just change in the near future.
Don’t panic because of this. Prepare for this.