Anyone stockpiling food?

[NYCgrrl]

I know of someone who actually hands out the samples at Costco. I read an article about them stopping the samples so I asked if he will be ok.. He hadn't heard about it. He is in Houston.

In my area the large stores that hand out samples are manned by independent contractors so they will probably be laid off.

 

[DLgal]

you know it's serious when costco announces no more samples at the stores

I got gas at Costco today. They had an employee manning each set of 3 pumps and wiping down the pumps, gasoline selection buttons, and keypad after EVERY person used it. I was blown away. We only have 3 cases in our county right now.

 

[Wendy31]

Are you in Tennessee? There was a Biogen conference in Boston this week and one male flew from TN to Logan airport and back and he attended the conference. They now say he tested positive, as did 2 others at the conference. They flew back to Europe.
Denise

Yes, I’m in TN.

I haven’t been able to find out much more info regarding the one case though. I think we also have some additional people being tested.

I just read that NY residents have been asked to self-quarantine? I’m assuming that’s just people who have symptoms?

 

[DisLiss]

Well today DH went out shopping again, and once agin everything was totally normal at the regular grocery stores. (Not BJs, Costco, Sams type places.) So maybe the people stockpiling feel they need to shop at the places that specialize in large quantity packages of everything?? Because the toilet paper aisles were as full as ever at the stores DH was at this evening.

 

[Imzadi]

I just read that NY residents have been asked to self-quarantine? I’m assuming that’s just people who have symptoms?

That's only the ones who've had close contact with the 44 confirmed cases. It's up to 4000 who are self-quarantining. MANY of them are voluntary, as a precaution. Not necessarily because of having any symptoms.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

In my area the large stores that hand out samples are manned by independent contractors so they will probably be laid off.

Exactly why I was worried.

 

[Imzadi]

The mayor said the Coronavirus can only be gotten through close contact. AND one can only GET it via the eyes, nose & mouth. It is NOT airborne. It doesn't stay in the air, like measles. So someone sneezing into the air and someone else later walking though the air space won't get it. (I wondered about that with the doomsday preppers/panicers at Costco before. If people are standing in line behind someone sneezing & wheezing, then walking though that air space, could they get it? Now confirmed: NOPE.) Even if one does sneeze or accidentally spits on you while talking, you have to then touch your eyes, nose or mouth with the virus on your hand and get it IN you.

Update info: (I had a feeling the mayor gave out info that might not be accurate.) This info is by ABC-TV's medical expert, Dr. Jen Ashton, when she was on 20/20 tonight. She was asked if someone just sneezes or coughs, and you are standing or sitting next to them, like on an airplane, is it still in the air and is it possible to breath it in?

She said, YES, one can breath it in if you are standing right next to them. However, technically, medically, it's not considered "airborne." I guess, medically it has to remain in the air for a longer period of time for them to consider it "airborne." So, she says to stand about 3-6 feet away from other people when possible. . . . .

. . . . .

 

[Imzadi]

I know of someone who actually hands out the samples at Costco. I read an article about them stopping the samples so I asked if he will be ok.. He hadn't heard about it. He is in Houston.

Were they stopping due to the virus spreading? Or because of financial reasons? I've seen people literally standing over the samples, with their faces right over the food and breathing over them. Or touching 3-4 pieces before deciding on one. And this is on non-virus times. Also there are others that just take 3-4 samples, as though they are there for lunch.

I can see stopping for financial reasons because if people are supposed to be stockpiling necessities, having samples for pigs in a blanket might not make much sense. It would be better to train the samplers on how to demonstrate using disinfectants properly and how to wash hands better to actually get rid of germs, the way surgeons have to.

That reminds me, this was the floor of the subway I was on last night. I could smell the scent of hand sanitizer everywhere. But, the floor looked disgusting. I guess the transit workers are spending so much time wiping down the handrails & turnstyles, they are no longer washing the floors.

 

[Farro]

Gosh, we have now have a confirmed case here in Chicago in our neighborhood!

I'm still not worried, but happy I stocked up on a few things just in case.

 

[SaintsManiac]

2 people in Florida died. Both in their 70s.

Still no cases in Louisiana. No crazy shortages of anything but hand sanitizer here.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Update info: (I had a feeling the mayor gave out info that might not be accurate.) This info is by ABC-TV's medical expert, Dr. Jen Ashton. She was asked if someone just sneezes or coughs, and you are standing or sitting next to them, like on an airplane, is it still in the air and is it possible to breath it in?

She said, YES, one can breath it in if you are standing right next to them. However, technically, medically, it's not considered "airborne." I guess, medically it has to remain in the air for a longer period of time for them to consider it "airborne." So, she says to stand about 3-6 feet away from other people when possible. . . . .

. . . . .

This makes a lot of sense. I was questioning things a bit when I read your prior post about what was said. If you think about it, a lot of coughs and sneezes are wet and those wet particles enter the air and take a moment to dissipate. I've walked into misty clouds right after DH sneezed several times. So if the virus is passed on through liquid secretions/particles/droplets (whatever you want to call it), it makes sense that you can be exposed if you walk through one of those misty clouds of a cough or sneeze of someone infected before it dissipates, get it on you, then touch your mouth or eyes, or from breathing it in. It wouldn't be the air that necessarily carries the virus, but those wet particles in the air right after a wet cough/sneeze before it dissipates.

 

[JoanneAZ]

Coronavirus is spread by droplets, it’s not airborne like tuberculosis or chicken pox. This is why it’s important for people to cover their sneezes and coughs and then wash their hands.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html
This article details the different types of isolation procedures used in medical facilities:

https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/basics/transmission-based-precautions.html

 

[NYCgrrl]

It's not a food item but nothing wrong w/ keeping some hand lotion near the sink.
Now the man has learned to wash his hands properly (LOL!) he's using up the Eurcerin.

 

[Searc]

Well we need to make another Costco run in the near future and while we're not big on samples I'll keep an eye out and see if they've pulled them from our store we go to. That indeed would be a sign of something

They announced it yesterday.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They announced it yesterday.

Yeah, I did see that in the news later on yesterday.

 

[Searc]

Yeah, I did see that in the news later on yesterday.

They said at some stores, which I don't understand. If we should all be running around like our hair is on fire, then it should be store-wide, not just certain locations.

 

[MamaLema]

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine......"

Just kidding, people!

I was singing this exact song in my head as I went to Costco this morning. Being are buying cases of water and toilet paper. You can feel panic in the air.
My country of Canada has 49 cases and the government is constantly emphasizing risk is low.
Costco knows what their customers want as items people stockpile the most are all by the front cash.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The toilet paper panic confuses me as much as the water. Thankfully, we have no shortages here.

 

[wenrob]

The toilet paper panic confuses me as much as the water. Thankfully, we have no shortages here.

Yeah, it’s very weird.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They said at some stores, which I don't understand. If we should all be running around like our hair is on fire, then it should be store-wide, not just certain locations.

I agree. Kinda strange if you ask me. Maybe they are trying to mitigate the impact to those employees as a whole? IDK. There's a sale starting on the 11th that I was going to go to Costco for so I'll check then and see if our store has been impacted. We don't have anyone positive...yet, but we do have people being monitored for it so you would think if the reasoning is coronavirus we might have more of a reason than somewhere that has zero positive people and zero monitoring.