I'm kidding, of course. It's never the right time to panic. However, if you're not already prepared for this, if you're lucky enough that it hasn't affected you very much yet, this is the time to prepare. This virus is spreading exponentially and that is a big part of why it's so scary. (That and the fact that it's 10 times more lethal than the flu, and roughly 10-20% of all cases require hospitalization which can overwhelm the healthcare system.) Cases will start small in number but quickly ramp up. For reference, it was only about three weeks ago when Italy had merely a handful of cases. Now they're at almost 900 people dead and the entire country is in lockdown.
And yes, the flu kills more people in total each year than this has. However, this virus is brand new. It's only infected somewhat over 100,000 people so far that we know of, though that number is growing rapidly. (By the time I publish this all of my numbers will be way off. That's how exponential growth works.) It hasn't been around for very long and already it's managed to kill over 4600 people. And it's just starting. Life is going to be very different for a while because of this.
For anyone thinking that it's just something that affects the elderly or those who are already sick anyway, have some compassion. Do you not know anyone who falls into an affected group? Or are you really just that selfish?
For the record, it's not just the elderly who are impacted. They are mostly who die from it, but many people at a variety of ages have been hospitalized with severe symptoms. Healthcare workers are also greatly affected in so. many. ways. An event such as this takes both a mental and physical toll, and more than a few healthcare workers have given their lives trying to save others. If we can do anything to make this less atrocious on them, please lets do that.
So, what can each of us do? I know that you've heard of washing your hands, and hand sanitizer is the hot accessory right now. If you don't already do these things, you might as well skip the rest.
But people like to have more concrete actions to take in the face of scary things. It's what we do. I know there are a lot of jokes about toilet paper forts and the fact that bottled water flew off the shelves as fast as hand sanitizer. I think those are symptoms of the fact that in our society being prepared for bad things to happen has been equated with being a Doomsday Prepper, and a nutcase. It's not fair to lump all preparations together that way, and in the face of real disasters people often don't know what they'll really need. It leaves us all unprepared and worse off as a group.
Stock up on Groceries Before it's too Widespread
I managed to get to Costco for our big quarterly stock up precisely one day before the news hit about community transmission in WA and all hell broke loose. This was due to a combination of both having kept tabs on the news and seen what was coming, and blind luck.
I've made two much smaller grocery runs since then to re-stock fresh foods (while I still can, in case we have to quarantine) and I know we have at least a month's worth of food on hand. I made a giant list of all the meals that we can make, some of which we have enough of to make 2-4 times, and it should see us through the worst of this outbreak. Hopefully. If we have to go for more than a month the kids are going to hate everything but we'll all be fed.
I'm not going to tell you precisely what to stock up on because not everyone eats the same way. A gluten free person isn't going to buy 40 lbs of flour like I did. (I've been making my own sourdough bread, yum!) But there are a few generalities that can be made.
Make sure you have easy things to make. Cans of soup, frozen foods. If you get sick you may still need or want to eat but not have the energy to cook. Other people in your house may need or want to eat but not want to cook or be able to. If you have kids, the kids are still going to need to be fed. Make sure that everyone can eat for at least a few days with a reasonable degree of healthfulness without anyone really needing to work at cooking.
Shelf stable items like flour, rice, pasta, canned foods, jarred foods, and beans will last a long, long time. Just make sure you're actually going to eat them. Now is maybe not the time to buy wild ingredients to try new recipes. If you want to experiment, make recipes that will utilize ingredients you'd want on hand anyway.
In that vein, plan for meals that use the same ingredients over and over. We have a ton of carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. I'm not worried that they'll go bad because we use and eat them so much. I'm actually worried that we'll run out!
Next, make sure there are treats. This situation is tough on everyone. Routines are disrupted, people are stressed. Having a few things to give yourself something you really enjoy and look forward to will make it seem less painful. I include coffee and tea in this category. You'd better believe we stocked up on those. We also have everything we need to do an immoderate amount of baking with the kids. (Scones have been requested.) This will both distract everyone, be an enjoyable way to pass the time, and give us something to look forward to.
I've done a similar thing with comfort foods, ensuring we have enough to make them 1-2 times each week. Lentil soup goes down much easier for the kids when they know we'll make mac and cheese or breakfast for dinner tomorrow.
Don't forget your pets. They'll need enough food, treats, and litter to see them through this too.
Don't forget to eat things up based on what will go bad. Fresh fruits and veggies first, then move onto the root vegetables, then canned or frozen items.
Social Distancing
One of the best measures most of us can take is social distancing. We're seeing this already here in Seattle, with basically anyone who can working from home. I'm not the only one hoping that this becomes a lasting change. (Think of the time and emissions saved! The gas money! The work travel!) No amount of hand washing, sanitizing, and no mask will help you more than simply staying away from people who might be infected.
However, not everyone has this privilege and it's important to remember them too. Be extra kind. It's unimaginably difficult to go to work every day knowing that it could make you sick, but still needing that paycheck. Hourly workers are also, on average, more likely to have worse health insurance (or no insurance) and to be less able to afford hospitalization. So seriously, be kind.
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| "I heard someone might get sick and I'm here for the snuggles. Snuggles fix everything." |
We had kept our daughter in school until today, when they closed all Seattle public schools. I know many people chose to preemptively remove their kids from school and that is also a legitimate choice. For us, having her in school learning what she could was more important. For others, particularly those with immunocompromised family members in the home, the calculation will probably be different.
In case you think that it might be easy for me to suggest social distancing because we've got all this privilege to afford stocking up on food and working from home, please keep in mind that my mother is in an eldercare facility. I've only been intermittently able to visit her as the facility goes in and out of lockdown due to concerns over this illness. It's adding stress to an already stressful time so please believe me when I say that I don't advocate for these measures lightly. They're enforcing social distancing and it's absolutely the right move under the circumstances.
Prepare to Be Sick
The likelihood is that most of us will get sick with this virus at some point. And most of us--around 80-90%--will not need hospitalization. (I refuse to say that we'll get it mildly, since everything from barely showing symptoms to pneumonia has been lumped under "mild to moderate"--as long as you don't need to be hospitalized. I don't think most of us consider pneumonia "mild", however.) So preparing as if you will get sick is not a terrible idea. Get laundry and other essential chores done preemptively. Keep some medicine on hand in case of fevers, and take your vitamins if you have them. Grab a bag of epsom salts if you still need to go to the store, to help with achy muscles.
Since this particular virus isn't hitting children nearly as hard (thank goodness), I'm preparing as if all adults in our house will get sick at the same time but the kids will still mostly be fine. If you're a parent, you know it's just awful when you're sick and the kids are bouncing around. Have activities for them to do and talk with them, beforehand, about what to do if you're sick. Even if you're not in a high risk group, make sure your kids know how to call emergency services if needed and under what circumstances they're allowed to do so. (This is good information for them to have in general.)
Pack a hospital bag. Even if you're not in a high risk group there is a chance that you will need to be hospitalized for this. Or to seek care. If the hospitals and urgent care centers are overwhelmed then you might have a very long wait. Pack snacks and things to do, things to read. An extra charging cable for your electronics. A change of clothes and even a pair of pajamas. A copy of your insurance card, if possible. And anything else you might need for a sudden stay in the hospital or a long wait at urgent care.
Plan for Boredom and Stress
Introverts of the world, unite! This is your moment to shine!
For everyone else, please keep in mind that two weeks, or more, can seem like a very. long. time. to be at home, or mostly at home. Have board games and card games on hand. Books. TV shows and movies you've been wanting to watch. Video games, both old and new. And make sure your kids, if you have them, have all of these things too.
If you're feeling stressed out, one of the best ways to help yourself is to work out. Yoga doesn't require you to go anywhere (here's a favorite one of mine). Going for a solo bike ride or walk or run can be soothing, as can gardening. We made a home gym in our basement mostly to avoid paying gym fees (okay, and because I wouldn't work out as regularly if I had to go somewhere to do it) which has been helping so much in this case. That part of our routine, at least, can stay the same.
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| Taking this guy for a walk is still a good idea. |
This might also be a good time to tackle some house projects. We've been meaning to clear out and reorganize our basement storage room, which still had paint and tools left by the previous owners, so guess what we'll be doing over the next few weeks? It's not glamorous but it does need to get done and the satisfaction we'll get from it will help stave off any feelings of being 'stuck' at home. Go ahead and Marie Kondo the shit out of your belongings. Hang up the painting that you've been meaning to for six years. Clean out the attic and box up all your grown kids' things to give to them when you get a chance. Do something productive with your time, as long as you're not sick.
If you're sick then just hole up and sleep or watch TV. It's okay to rest too and get zero things accomplished if that's what you need. You do you.
Help Your Community
In my area, Bloodworks Northwest has put an urgent call out for people to donate blood if at all possible. Just because there's a virus going on doesn't mean that there aren't still other emergencies happening, and having people self-isolating means fewer people are donating. (Although hopefully it also means fewer car crashes too.) If you don't live in the PNW, you can get ahead of things by donating locally before it becomes urgent.
Doctors Without Borders is also working on the front lines in the hardest hit areas. Please consider donating to support them.
Food banks and homeless shelters are going to urgently need funds to help care for the neediest in our communities. The homeless population is likely to be very hard hit by this, and people who are already on the edge of not being able to meet their expenses will be severely impacted by any time off work. Even if there is some sort of bailout that miraculously helps the poorest rather than the richest, it will almost certainly take a while and be far less than is needed. Please consider making a donation to them as well.
Check in with elderly neighbors. Our next door neighbor is an elderly lady living alone. We have a good, friendly relationship with her so I let her know that if she needs anything we're here to help. She's not helpless and she does have a daughter nearby, but having more people to check on her won't hurt anything. If she does get sick I'll be much more comfortable knowing that she knows she can call on us.
There have also been distressing reports--a lot of them, too many--of racist attacks. Asian restaurants have been avoided because people think they'll get coronavirus, and at least one man has been attacked for being Asian. Please be extra mindful of your Asian neighbors (particularly in a place like Seattle, with a large Asian population) and, obviously, step in if you see racism happening. Shut down comments by friends and family who might try to blame the Chinese for this happening. It's unhelpful and not okay. No one person or group is to blame for this and we are all in it together.
Economic Impacts
In addition to everything else going on, this is going to be a really rough time financially for many people. If you do need to shop or go out, please go to small businesses. If you want them to still be around when this is over they will need your support all the way through.
I don't know what's going to happen when all is said and done (oh, for a magic crystal ball!) but it does seem likely that this is going to cause a recession. I've heard any number of variations on the "stocks are on sale!" theme, but that blithely ignores the pain that a recession is going to inflict on many, many people. The stock market is not the same as the economy, and while it might be "on sale" that really only matters if you have enough money to invest in it. Retirees will be hurt, especially the recently retired, and people who are already hurting are just going to be hurt more.
If you are in a relatively good position, now is the time to either build or plump up your emergency fund. Really, the time to do that was a couple of years ago, but doing it now is better than nothing. Ideally you want to have 3-6 months of living expenses available. But there's ideal and then there's reality. Truthfully, any amount saved up for emergencies is wonderful. Do it please.
Here's the toughest part of the economic side for me: I want to help the hourly workers who are inevitably going to be struggling after this. I want to help the small businesses that we enjoy. But social distancing means that I will not be patronizing them for a while. Getting the people who work there and myself sick doesn't help anyone in the long run. However, I sincerely hope that those businesses are back at it as soon as they can so I can be their customer again as soon as I'm able. In the meantime I'm going to poke and prod the politicians of this country to do more to support people and small businesses. Please do the same.
What Else?
This is, if nothing else, an interesting start to the new decade. This is already big enough that it will have ripple effects at least a few years into the future. How will it change the political landscape in this election year? How will the stock market crashing change things? Will this virus have any long-term health impacts on the people who contract it? No one knows! It's interesting in part because this moment has the potential for rapid change. The future we expected and thought we could rely on at the start of the year, just two and a half months ago, is not what we can expect now. There are many possibilities, many moments for the shape of the world to change.
There have been many moments just in the last two weeks when my life has changed quite rapidly. Not in flashy ways, but still major shifts. I had a fifteen minute time period today in which the course of this week, this month, were suddenly different. So many small and big things changed. School cancelled. New rules at my mom's facility that allow me to visit her once more for short periods. People to contact, plans to be made or changed. It's hard for me to take life as it comes because I like to plan, but since so much is out of my control now I can only roll with the punches and try to take moments where I can to process it all. Que sera sera. I've done what I can, the rest is out of my hands.
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