I think that a lot of us would be *very* surprised at the amount of our goods (including food) that come from China.
And, it doesn't need to be scarcity of goods - even just perceived scarcity will cause an uptick in panic buying, etc.. I was in my local grocery store this AM; all of the TP was completely sold out - almost 3/4 of an aisle of empty shelves. We have a Japanese style washlet in our house, and I know that TP is made in a factory in our city, so it's not an immediate concern for me/us as a household, yet I still had a little frisson of anxiety shoot up my spine. What if it's empty shelves of milk, flour, veggies, etc...'staples' that are *always* there...I can see that sparking panic buying of a lot of stuff, with consequent friction as some people buy more than their perceived share...
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Say, what's that mountain goat doing up here in the mist?
Happiness is V1 at Thompson!
Ass, Licence, Job. In that order.
North Shore wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:34 pm
What if it's empty shelves of milk, flour, veggies, etc...'staples' that are *always* there...I can see that sparking panic buying of a lot of stuff, with consequent friction as some people buy more than their perceived share...
Already happened. See my pics below...
This is over the last 2 days from various walmart, no frills and loblaws...most shelves are either TP, milk, meat, veggies or bread...
I'd like to add that my wife who works in a pharmacy at the local hospital is sending out e-mails outlining how to handle the shortage of medicine. The concern right now is sourcing the correct active ingredients for meds, which mostly come from China according to the hospital. They are moving meds around between partner hospitals, paying through their nose for same day delivery from drug companies. They're making it work, for now.
It's just the beginning.
Also, milk. Are people freezing milk? I don't get why every store I go to does not have milk. People are also buying baby formula as a substitute for milk, leaving families who need that stuff out to dry.
Because it seems that people have literally no common sense... the virus doesn't appear to be that bad. The current number from confirmed cases and deaths is roughly 4%, which is probably more like 1 to 2% given all the unconfirmed/diagnosed cases due to asymptomatic people...and people are forgetting that the death rate of 4% currently is the elderly... majority over 80, with next highest rate being 70 and above. The death rate for those under 50 is virtual 0
It's contagious which is what is worrisome. I'm not down playing it but jezz this isn't ebola where the case fatality rate is on average 50%
rookiepilot wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:05 pm
If this is the worst crisis you go through in your life....life is pretty good. Just saying.
I'm getting tired over the hysteria of no TP and isolation for a few weeks. Just not that big a deal.
What is a big deal though is if people DON'T take it seriously and we end up with huge amounts of people in the hospital/ICU at the same time.
I think the attitude that "oh it's just a flu, young people will be ok" really needs to die. YES, you will likely be fine but being a potential source of the virus to others who are not healthy when you are a-symptomatic is the issue.
The longer this goes on the more I learn who of my friends are extremely selfish people. It's not hard to just hang out at home. If you HAVE to leave to go to a job for fear of losing it that I understand. But the amount of people I see still going to bars/clubs/restaurants etc. is insane. They just say "oh I'm young I'm probably going to get it anyways so may as well just get it over with." Bad excuse. It's not about YOU, it's about the 60-80 year olds who will probably die or could die if they end up in the ICU when no beds or ventilators are available. Or people who have compromised immune systems or lung problems.
Yeah, do the right thing. Stay home. Cancel your vacation. Get laid off for a period. Even, Go without TP. Whatever!
Just don't bitch about it, as I'm reading incessantly on social media. You'd think everyone was world war 1, trying to survive in the trenches in France. FFS!
Not London, WW2, with the bombs falling.
These are NOT life changing events, for the overwhelmingly majority of people.
Life will go on!
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Last edited by rookiepilot on Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
rookiepilot wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:29 pm
Yeah, do the right thing. Stay home. Cancel your vacation. Get laid off for a period. Even, Go without TP. Whatever!
Just don't bitch about it, as I'm reading incessantly on social media. You'd think everyone was world war 1, trying to survive in the trenches in France. FFS!
These are NOT life changing events, for the overwhelmingly majority of people.
twa22 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:25 pm
Because it seems that people have literally no common sense... the virus doesn't appear to be that bad. The current number from confirmed cases and deaths is roughly 4%, which is probably more like 1 to 2% given all the unconfirmed/diagnosed cases due to asymptomatic people...and people are forgetting that the death rate of 4% currently is the elderly... majority over 80, with next highest rate being 70 and above. The death rate for those under 50 is virtual 0
No common sense, huh?
I'm going to guess you're in your twenties.
I have about ten near relatives in their seventies, and my mother is nearly ninety. All of them are presently in reasonable or good health, and absent recent virus pandemics, have a decent life expectancy. I'm very fond of all of them. Add in another half dozen friends aged seventy and over, too.
Statistically, more than one of them will spend weeks in hospital on artificial ventilation (if a ventilator is actually available at that time) and more than one of them will die from this infection in the next few months. Which ones would you like it to be?
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DId you hear the one about the jurisprudence fetishist? He got off on a technicality.
twa22 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:25 pm
Because it seems that people have literally no common sense... the virus doesn't appear to be that bad. The current number from confirmed cases and deaths is roughly 4%, which is probably more like 1 to 2% given all the unconfirmed/diagnosed cases due to asymptomatic people...and people are forgetting that the death rate of 4% currently is the elderly... majority over 80, with next highest rate being 70 and above. The death rate for those under 50 is virtual 0
No common sense, huh?
I'm going to guess you're in your twenties.
I have about ten near relatives in their seventies, and my mother is nearly ninety. All of them are presently in reasonable or good health, and absent recent virus pandemics, have a decent life expectancy. I'm very fond of all of them. Add in another half dozen friends aged seventy and over, too.
Statistically, more than one of them will spend weeks in hospital on artificial ventilation (if a ventilator is actually available at that time) and more than one of them will die from this infection in the next few months. Which ones would you like it to be?
You misunderstood my post. My no common sense comment was referring to raiding grocery stores of supplies and then not having anything left for others who may seriously need some of those things... TP you could get by, but some things like potatos or milk are definitely more essential... People acting in selfish manner by hoarding everything because they think the apocalypse is coming is not a good thing. Stores should have been limiting the quantity people can buy, because i do suspect its a hoarding issue here rather then everyone was at the store and wiped everything off the shelves
Don't for a second think that I don't care about the elderly, or anyone else who may be affected by this because of overwhelmed hospitals that could potentially occur... I sincerely hope they don't, and that people do take this seriously. I didn't say it here, but I said to my friends in January, action should've been taken then. There is a difference between overreacting and mass hysteria, versus being relatively calm and doing the correct thing early so we avoid what is going on now
twa22 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:25 pm
Because it seems that people have literally no common sense... the virus doesn't appear to be that bad. The current number from confirmed cases and deaths is roughly 4%, which is probably more like 1 to 2% given all the unconfirmed/diagnosed cases due to asymptomatic people...and people are forgetting that the death rate of 4% currently is the elderly... majority over 80, with next highest rate being 70 and above. The death rate for those under 50 is virtual 0
It's contagious which is what is worrisome. I'm not down playing it but jezz this isn't ebola where the case fatality rate is on average 50%
Wrong. In order to calculate the death rate, you have to only take into account closed cases (ie: those that were cured and those that died). There were 91,000 closed cases since the beginning and 8,000 deaths for an 8.8% death rate. By your math, we’re looking at a 3-4% death rate. It is quite high.
Ebola wasn’t nearly as virulent. There were only 29k cases in the two years it resurged between 14 and 16 and 11k deaths. There are 8k deaths in just a couple of months and there is no sign of slowing down.
Keep in mind South Korea got a handle on this LONG ago, well before the stage we already are at in Canada. Not to mention many people in SK wear masks when they are sick (which only help the spread of disease) and are much more socially aware when they are sick than people in western countries, Canada and the USA specifically.
We can't keep comparing ourselves to SK, HK, Taiwan and China.