Is it time to talk about coronavirus? (2 Viewers)

[DaveF]

I'm just curious, why Italy was "chosen" by that virus like as the main aim? (talking about Europe)

The virus didn't "choose" or "aim" at Italy. Italians ignore the pandemic, they willfully disregarded all recommendations to practice social distancing. And so the virus did was viruses do in non-immune populations: it spread exponentially.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

As of last night my work has shifted to an alternating schedule. I'm off the rest of the week (announced last night), and go to work next week. Then off the week after, etc. I can work onsite M-F only, weekends the offices are closed for cleaning. My WFH options are very limited, an limitation of my field. So I'll be trying to work 12 hr days, and hopefully find 4 hrs billable work at home o the weekend. That gives me 64 hrs (8 days) charged. I can then use vacation time for the remaining 16 hrs (2 days) in the two week pay period. And then I have a week off to recover from that, and then do it again. I can sustain spending 2 days every two weeks for the near term.

This is strange and stressful. It's easy to say I'll work 12 hr days in a under half-staffed office, but that's to be determined. Similarly, can I find WFH material and will I even want to spend Saturday mornings on it? Also TBD.

But I make no complaints. I am fortunate to be working and earning money. The short term sacrifice of a couple weeks PTO is manageable in this present crisis.

Dave, stay safe!

That goes for all HTF members and their families. Practice social distancing. Wash your hands.

 

[John Dirk]

By the way, isn't it strange that there are not that much cases reported in Russia?

Not really. It's probably the same situation as N. Korea. Certain governments just don't play by the rules of modern society and prefer to keep their dirty laundry hidden.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...icial-virus-tally-zero-experts-aren-t-so-sure

 

[John Dirk]

Walmart stores here have had trouble with hoarders as well as people stealing cases of water and all manner of cleaning supplies. They (Walmart) have gone so far as to close the garden center exit and post employees at both front entrances and the automotive entrance to check every shopper’s receipt against what they have in their buggy. You get to stand in line to check out and then you get to stand in line again to have your purchases validated against your receipt. Good times.

Target and Kroger are not doing this and apparently have not had the same kind of trouble as Walmart.

I think Costco has implemented the best solutions I've seen thus far. They actually have Police Officers [some locations] in the areas where water and toilet paper, etc are stocked. There's only one way into the area, an employee hands you your allotted items and then you're asked to move on, no exceptions. Any issues? That's what the Police Officers are there for. Other stores are limiting occupancy to 50 members at any given time.

It's a shame it had to come to this but it has.

 

[TonyD]

I’ll be Venturing into Costco tomorrow..
Just for things like milk and water if they have them.
Maybe some paper towels and whatever else they might still havein Stick

 

[DaveF]

Dave, stay safe!

That goes for all HTF members and their families. Practice social distancing. Wash your hands.

Thanks.

This alternating work schedule splits the workforce in under half in any given week. We're been spread out to no more than 2 per office, possible one per office to have minimum 6 foot spacing in normal working situations. Meetings are reduced in number and even in-office meetings are becoming telecoms.

 

[Nelson Au]

Right now my concern about surviving the Covid 19 Situation is getting food. Extra stress on top of washing my hands and disinfecting my iPhone and everything with alcohol. We in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area are shut in by the shelter in place order for the last couple of days. I continue working at home. I need to buy food and people are hoarding and panic buying mass quantities of food as soon as the shelter in place order came out, so the grocery stores can’t keep up. I decided to wait out the panic buyers since late last week to avoid the crowds at the stores, so I’m out of some basics, so I hope to venture out to the grocery store today. (By the way, I did go to Costco last week and was able to get Kleenex and only one pack of toilet paper and paper towels. I didn’t need to hoard those items, but I did need to restock as I was low, especially on Kleenex.)

There is absolutely no food shortages in the San Francisco Bay Area or the US. People are buying 3 to 5 times their normal buying habits and it’s put a strain on the distribution system the news is reporting. So the store shelves are empty. They can’t restock fast enough. I couldn’t believe it when I went to the grocery store yesterday to see no bread, no eggs, very few produce. Even the chips isle was empty. They are making it very difficult for everyone else and the seniors to buy food. It is Panic in the Year Zero as people are going nuts and there’s no need to. I was able to get a case of Pepsi and my favorite dark chocolate bars though, real nutritious. Good for the soul.

Wish me luck as I try to avoid the virus and buy some food today. Bimbo Bakeries USA who produce breads like Oroweat make deliveries to the grocery stores, so I hope they have a run today.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The virus didn't "choose" or "aim" at Italy. Italians ignore the pandemic, they willfully disregarded all recommendations to practice social distancing. And so the virus did was viruses do in non-immune populations: it spread exponentially.

Several stories have mentioned a possible issue in Italy: that it's common there for multiple generations to live under one roof. Teenagers give it to grandma. That sort of thing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The virus didn't "choose" or "aim" at Italy. Italians ignore the pandemic, they willfully disregarded all recommendations to practice social distancing. And so the virus did was viruses do in non-immune populations: it spread exponentially.

Not only that, but Italy has a lot of tourism and the Italian population trends older compared to other countries.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Several stories have mentioned a possible issue in Italy: that it's common there for multiple generations to live under one roof. Teenagers give it to grandma. That sort of thing.

That too!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Right now my concern about surviving the Covid 19 Situation is getting food. Extra stress on top of washing my hands and disinfecting my iPhone and everything with alcohol. We in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area are shut in by the shelter in place order for the last couple of days. I continue working at home. I need to buy food and people are hoarding and panic buying mass quantities of food as soon as the shelter in place order came out, so the grocery stores can’t keep up. I decided to wait out the panic buyers since late last week to avoid the crowds at the stores, so I’m out of some basics, so I hope to venture out to the grocery store today. (By the way, I did go to Costco last week and was able to get Kleenex and only one pack of toilet paper and paper towels. I didn’t need to hoard those items, but I did need to restock as I was low, especially on Kleenex.)

There is absolutely no food shortages in the San Francisco Bay Area or the US. People are buying 3 to 5 times their normal buying habits and it’s put a strain on the distribution system the news is reporting. So the store shelves are empty. They can’t restock fast enough. I couldn’t believe it when I went to the grocery store yesterday to see no bread, no eggs, very few produce. Even the chips isle was empty. They are making it very difficult for everyone else and the seniors to buy food. It is Panic in the Year Zero as people are going nuts and there’s no need to. I was able to get a case of Pepsi and my favorite dark chocolate bars though, real nutritious. Good for the soul.

Wish me luck as I try to avoid the virus and buy some food today. Bimbo Bakeries USA who produce breads like Oroweat make deliveries to the grocery stores, so I hope they have a run today.

What you're talking about is exactly what I meant earlier about one's true character comes out during their hour of facing adversity. I went to the grocery store this morning and they were basically out of meat. This is a huge store that is open 24/7. Another item I noticed completely gone was onions of all things.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I went to the grocery store on Saturday and picked up somewhere between a week and two week’s worth of stuff. I’m used to stopping at the market on a daily or every other day basis so for me to buy all of this at once was a little out of the norm, but not impossible. There were instances where they didn’t have my first choice of items in a particular category but it wasn’t bare enough where I couldn’t find anything, just a matter of substituting one brand for another here, one cut of meat for another there, etc. We’ll see what it’s like when it’s time to try again but I thought the store was doing a good job and the customers didn’t seem to be going crazy. Being in a city probably makes my experience a little different from the suburbs; we just don’t have room to hoard too much stuff in apartments and we’re walking home from the store rather than getting into cars, so that seems to limit some of the problem with hoarding.

 

[Mike2001]

You know our local store was bad. Even the vegan “meat” was gone.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The supermarkets here last Friday did have the first panic shoppers. I had gone in the store near my house to find a truly bizarre situation...teams of people with multiple shopping carts throwing everything they could get their hands on in mass quantities in their carts. The fresh chicken was gone. Bottled water gone. Fresh fruit gone. Obviously the toilet paper aisle was totally empty. It was crazy in the store. I decided to just grab the few things on my wife's list and to get the hell out of there as quickly as I could.

The good news is the stores have been restocking everything without a problem with the exception of toilet paper, which people continue to frenzy buy when they see it. So, if you don't go early in the morning chances are you won't find toilet paper. I have been fine with this because first we have plenty of toilet paper in the house and two I am aware that there are warehouses full of toilet paper in the distribution chain so it will eventually be restocked and once the panic buyers have filled rooms of their homes with extra toilet paper it should become not much of a problem to find it again.

The stores have begun a policy of limiting toilet paper and bottled water purchases to two packages per person so perhaps that will stop the frenzy buyers from loading up three shopping carts with toilet paper.

We'll get through this though.

 

[TonyD]

Nelson that’s exactly what my wife and I were talking about the other day. Very concerned about being about to have a sufficient amount of food
One thing that hasn’t thought about being factored into the need for food are all the people who do all their eating at restaurants.
People who only eat out and never buy food now have to buy food too.
So we have all the selfish hoarders plus all those who never buy food for the home until now.

I believe there is plenty of food to go around and for stores to be stocked but if the groups that are hoarding everything are allowed to continue that it’s going to get rough.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Panic has settled in here in Hawthorne, NV, especially after the governor's press conference last night, ordering the mandatory closures of all non-essential business, including casinos, and limiting restaurants to take-out, curbside pick-up, and delivery.

Of course, the community Facebook page has not helped, as nutcases keep posting sightings of out of town U-Haul trucks parked outside Safeway, waiting to empty the next delivery from the Safeway warehouse.

 

[Tino]

Italians ignore the pandemic, they willfully disregarded all recommendations to practice social distancing.

Mistakes were made by the Government, but I disagree with this harsh assessment. I have family in Italy and they took it seriously from the start.

 

[Mike2001]

Man, how much further down is the stock market going to go? Most of my equity investments are in my long term bucket (10+ year time horizon) so I had determined to ride this out. But it sure is demoralizing watching it shrink daily.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Other than this past Friday I have not seen problems with food in the stores. I have noticed people seem to be frenzy buying different items. I noticed yesterday that people had wiped out the frozen pizza during the day (I shop mostly at night) but this did not concern me because I never buy frozen pizza. Another day the canned soup aisle was gutted. I did not care as I never buy canned soup. However going back these items were fully restocked. So, I think the empty shelves just take them some time to restock. When I was at the market last night there were few customers in the store but the employees were restocking all the empty shelves. I don't think supermarkets have had to deal with this kind of frenzy shopping at this pace.

In the Northeast we have this when snowstorms are coming. I am told by Florida relatives they deal with hoard shoppers during hurricane season.

I have seen some funny things at the supermarket though. Obviously some of the more concerned people are now going to the grocery store in masks, gloves, and goggles. I saw one guy wearing all of this as well as a white lab jumpsuit.

As I stood in the checkout line the guy in front of me had filled two shopping carts, one with nothing but pasta, the other with nothing but jars of pasta sauce. I thought, well...maybe he is on a special diet.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I also think that when some people go in a store and see the supply of a certain item looks low they impulse buy whatever is left of the item which leads to the empty shelving. Other than the complete freak out over toilet paper though, it seems most items are being quickly restocked.

My brother's ex-wife reported that people had emptied the stores near her of diapers but the stores near me seem fully stocked.