Coronavirus (COVID-19) Panic Buying?

[lovetravellingoz]

Indeed, I get the impression Aussies are too busy emptying supermarket shelves to go on holiday!
cheers skip

Not at the supermarkets I frequent. And at Costco, when don't shoppers here have full trollies?

I think it is more that hand sanitiser has a run on.

 

[Katie]

We did our weekly shop at Coles on Sunday. I don't recall there being an issue with any products in particular on that day.

On Thursday morning, after taking Miss 13 to the doctors (virus and a mouth ulcer!!) due to her sore throat and croaky voice, we went to another local Coles on the way home. We were both intrigued to take stock of what shelves were empty, what ones were bare, and what ones were fine.

Toilet paper was all gone, just the fancy wipes that claim you can flush them, but you probably really shouldn't flush them. Didn't look at tissues or paper towels.
Pasta and Rice were low, but there was a variety of shapes/types available for both. Flour - all the White Wings brand was pretty much gone, but plenty of Coles brand Plain and SR Flour. UHT milk also mostly empty, but plenty of the nut juice/dairy free nut milks available.

On a happier note, plenty of Chicken Twisties, a very good range of Cadbury chocolate blocks in family size were available, plenty of Tim Tams (classic and new flavours, though the fancy new flavours were at $3.75 or something per packet!!! And those packets only have 9 bikkies, not 11!!), crackers, all kinds of bikkies. Juices, both cold and shelf stable were plentiful. Eggs were stocked the best I've seen in about 6 weeks. Plenty of Tofu in the vegan section.

 

[ja1]

Just got the following odd advice from Victorian Seniors Program.
Odd as in,
"DON’T wear a facemask if you are well" - why? Is stopping other people's sneeze particles entering one's mouth and nose a bad thing?

and
"......for 2 or 3 weeks. This means having an adequate supply of your prescription medicine, food and other essentials" - time to panic Buy!

On the first point it's because wearing a mask _doesn't_ stop other people's sneeze particles from entering your nose and mouth. We'd like to think it does but.. well, it doesn't.

It's possible there is a chance it might, if you had the right kind of mask and knew how to wear it propertly and... within 15 minutes as it got moist, it.. doesn't work again.

This is the reason doctors and dentists are pissed as they go through ~3-4 masks per person per appointment as the mask doesn't function as designed after those 15 minutes of use..

On the other hand they do work really well to contain your sneeze particles on the way out.


On the second point.. yeah, that's unfortunate. For prescription medicine it makes a lot of sense to have some extra for convenience as it is unlikely to go off before use, you're treating an ongoing condition and so on. An adequate supply of food on the other hand means what ? As far as I am concerned we're always just one packet away from a worldwide shortage of Timtams but I'm not panic buying them as a result..

 

[Denali]

I get what people are saying about healthy people not to wear masks but in todays world, where people are rude pigs, a healthy person wearing a mask isnt a bad thing and Im not judging someone for doing it.

Sitting in a quite office, you notice how many people are sneezing and coughing and theyre not covering their mouths.

Add that to public transport, shopping ect - if wearing a mask minimizes particles going onto your face, into your airway then Im ok with it

 

[Renato1]

Because, if you're healthy, there's little point wearing one unless you are looking after someone with COVID-19. This according to WHO:

When and how to use masks

WHO's guidance and advice on the use of masks to protect against and limit the spread of COVID-19.

www.who.int

So, you should wear a mask if you know someone has Coronavirus - presumably because it works - but shouldn't wear it when you don't know if someone has Coronavirus - presumably because...??????
Cheers,
Renato

 

[Lynda2475]

If you have (or suspect you have) COVID-19 you should wear a mask to protect others 0 masks are good at keeping droplets in.

If you are interacting with a covid-19 case (or suspected case) for a short period you should wear a mask. But masks are less effective at keeping droplets out after 15 mins as they become damp on the inside. This is why walking around with one all the time is pretty pointless, unless you are changing them every 15 mins (as doctors do between each 15 min consultation).

 

[Renato1]

On the first point it's because wearing a mask _doesn't_ stop other people's sneeze particles from entering your nose and mouth. We'd like to think it does but.. well, it doesn't.

It's possible there is a chance it might, if you had the right kind of mask and knew how to wear it propertly and... within 15 minutes as it got moist, it.. doesn't work again.

This is the reason doctors and dentists are pissed as they go through ~3-4 masks per person per appointment as the mask doesn't function as designed after those 15 minutes of use..

On the other hand they do work really well to contain your sneeze particles on the way out.


On the second point.. yeah, that's unfortunate. For prescription medicine it makes a lot of sense to have some extra for convenience as it is unlikely to go off before use, you're treating an ongoing condition and so on. An adequate supply of food on the other hand means what ? As far as I am concerned we're always just one packet away from a worldwide shortage of Timtams but I'm not panic buying them as a result..

Thanks but ........Stops sneeze particles getting out - doesn't stop sneeze particles getting in.

I know that's what is being pushed by medical professionals - including two on Fox News the other day.

But it doesn't make sense, and no rational explanation has been offered that I have heard so far.

The US CDC is offering advice on what beard styles men can have to ensure the masks work (there aren't many such beard styles, clean shaven is best). Why offer that advice if the masks don't work?
Regards,
Renato

 

[VPS]

Out shopping today

 

[glasszon]

Out shopping today

View attachment 208157

At the rate people is buying toilet paper, I don't think this sign will be out for long!

 

[Denali]

Hubbys friend said his store is sold out of cooking oil.

I guess all the people who hoarded all the rice think they have to deep fry it to make fried rice?

 

[Pushka]

Out shopping today

View attachment 208157

Dulwich?
Apparently our Foodland/Drakes/IGA stores actually have a warehouse which surprisingly contains - a good supply of all items they sell, and housed locally. What a dumb model - not! My local store is HB Foodland and everything other than gels is available. That's where I was this morning.

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2020

At the rate people is buying toilet paper, I don't think this sign will be out for long!

Plenty of stock at these kinds of stores in SA.

 

[Fifa]

My son lives in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. On the way home from work yesterday he asked a neighbour who had been shopping why he had bought so much toilet paper and the reply was "because everyone else is"!!!
Go figure.

 

[teammongo]

Looks like a reprieve from the toilet paper apocalypse today at Coles. Almost everyone had one or two packs in their shopping trolley. There were still enough on the shelves to sooth the anxious masses. Reportedly went through 5 pallets of toilet paper today.

They seemed to have moved onto edible objects now.
Rice

Flour

Pasta



Why, oh why....

 

[VPS]

Dulwich?
Apparently our Foodland/Drakes/IGA stores actually have a warehouse which surprisingly contains - a good supply of all items they sell, and housed locally. What a dumb model - not! My local store is HB Foodland and everything other than gels is available. That's where I was this morning.

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2020

Plenty of stock at these kinds of stores in SA.

Goodwood

 

[Bodie]

I went out today to do the catalogue specials run - no loo paper at woolworths or coles at brookside , but aldi and iga had some, so picked up 12 pack. Speaking to lady also getting some said she went to five other stores and gone. This was at 10am today.

 

[flyinpod]

If i come across a patient with suspected Covid , i am told to wear a mask and other PPE.. i don't buy it that they don't protect in some way (N95 masks). Eye protection is also required.

 

[Renato1]

ASIANS TO THE RESCUE

Location - Springvale South shops, Victoria - near the end of a long row of Asian shops.

40 Roll Toilet Paper Packs stacked out onto the footpath - to head height.

2 ply 400 sheets per roll, brand Tork, Made in New Zealand.

At $40 for a 40 pack, a tad expensive. But the pack weighs a lot more than what two typical 20 packs of 180 sheets weigh - so probably not that bad value - and each roll individually wrapped. Good for gifts.

Great to see the local Asian shops stepping up to help ameliorate the Toilet Paper Crisis.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[juddles]

Thanks but ........Stops sneeze particles getting out - doesn't stop sneeze particles getting in.

I know that's what is being pushed by medical professionals - including two on Fox News the other day.

But it doesn't make sense, and no rational explanation has been offered that I have heard so far.
...

Dear Renato, perhaps the following will make some sense:

Pretty much any face mask is not a perfect hermetic seal - unless you get into true military-grade NBC affairs. So if you are in an infected environment, they will not stop that just single virus spore that will give you the problem.... But if you are infected and wear one, they will not stop you gushing every single one of the gazzilions of spores out into the environment, but they will catch a hell of a lot of them and thus significantly lower (not stop) the danger to others.

 

[tgh]

In a moment of madness a few weeks back, I bought a couple of P3 masks with some spare filters.
( I also have a regular heap of p2 masks in the workshop and a just arrived box of p2V in the house...)
As I understand it , the P3 are as close as one can practically get to filtering most stuff out.
They are a silicone type face piece with replaceable filters that can be used for long periods
The helpful comments on an other thread explained the reasons for paper masks being single usage and time limited

 

[Renato1]

Dear Renato, perhaps the following will make some sense:

Pretty much any face mask is not a perfect hermetic seal - unless you get into true military-grade NBC affairs. So if you are in an infected environment, they will not stop that just single virus spore that will give you the problem.... But if you are infected and wear one, they will not stop you gushing every single one of the gazzilions of spores out into the environment, but they will catch a hell of a lot of them and thus significantly lower (not stop) the danger to others.

WHO advice,
"If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection."

So, why wear an N95 mask around someone with suspected Coronavirus?
Why do Doctors and health workers wear them?

Your explanation that the masks don't protect you when others are infected, does not seem to accord with the WHO advice, and the practice of Doctors, Dentists and health workers.
Regards,
Renato

P.S. Low concentrations of virus outside mask - mask doesn't work,
Very high concentration of virus inside the very same mask - mask does work.
Mutually exclusive.
"

 

[juddles]

WHO advice,
"If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection."

So, why wear an N95 mask around someone with suspected Coronavirus?
Why do Doctors and health workers wear them?

Your explanation that the masks don't protect you when others are infected, does not seem to accord with the WHO advice, and the practice of Doctors, Dentists and health workers.
Regards,
Renato

P.S. Low concentrations of virus outside mask - mask doesn't work,
Very high concentration of virus inside the very same mask - mask does work.
Mutually exclusive.
"

I get your understanding of the situation, and I think it is correct in a general sense. But I think what the authorities are trying to do is to get the use of such a scant resource (masks) to be put to the most effect. Obviously, if everyone on the planet wore a mask, that would be a good thing, but there are not enough masks for this.

Instead of just thinking "Low concentrations of virus outside mask - mask doesn't work", think "masks are not infallible - but the lower the outside concentration the better", and likewise, "very high concentration of virus inside mask - mask does work" - think rather "mask not infallible, but will severely restrict expelling spores"

Edit: further comment - the general consensus (God I hate using that phrase given climate change usage) is that a mask when worn as a protective device loses most efficacy after about 15 minutes. So if you want to go to the airport and get on a 6 hour flight then get to your destination you will need about 8hrs minimum of fresh masks - so about 32 of the suckers. Noone has that sort of supply.