Coronavirus and the 2020 toilet paper crisis

[guest311]

same situation at our local Tesco's, mind you always difficult to decide if there is a run [?] on something, or just their usual inability to keep the shelves stocked 

did cstock up on towel rolls, just in case that's next 

might have, as a last resort, to start taking a daily newspaper, and put a nail in the toilet wall  :'(

[njee20]

We buy our toilet paper from a sustainable organisation called Who Gives a Crap, buying a box of (IIRC) 48 rolls, which obviously lasts ages. Typically we're about to run out, and so have WGAC. Bloody annoying!

[exmouthcraig]

Maybe it's the anti social remote world I live in but until I read on here I had no idea this was happening out there in society!!!!

I had the joyous task of doing the weekly shop yesterday. I couldn't be bothered on thursday so we limped through, after a 5am start I was back from the lambing shed and knew if I didnt go straight away I'd not go.

No time for coffee just grabbed the bags and shot the 20mins up the road to sainsburys.

Now maybe it was because I was wearing wellies, waterproof dungarees and a coat with pretty much every bit of fluid a birthing ewe can cover you with, including water, straw, hay and iodine or it was because it was 7.13am on a Saturday  I was able to fire round the shop, collect EVERYTHING I wanted including tins of soup, beans and ketchup all standard weekly purchases, 4 loaves of bread, the usual amount, all the frozen food we needed. A 9 roll pack of toilet paper, Mrs EC ALWAYS buys 4 but I ALWAYS buy 9 and a great big 1litre of antibacterial soap.

It was a normal weekly shop buying all the items in the same quantities as we always buy them.

So until I got time to catch up on here i had No idea panic buying was happening and had no reason to suspect it was judging by the shop shelves

[PLD]

In any supposed "Crisis" like this, the two things that are actually the most contagious and do the most harm are Hysteria and Hypercondria... 

[Newportnobby]

Friend of mine told me last Monday he wouldn't be going to the gym for a few weeks until things had settled a bit regarding the virus. When I asked him if he was going to his club that night he said 'Yes'. When I asked if he was still going to do a weekly shop he said 'Yes'
My next question to him was 'What's different in those places?' and, of course, he had no answer.
There's no picking and choosing what events to attend or where to visit. You either shut yourself off in a bunker or carry on as normal but maybe with more hygienic practises.

might have, as a last resort, to start taking a daily newspaper, and put a nail in the toilet wall  :'(

I'm convinced some of them are printed purely for that end use.

[daffy]

I'm not panic buying but we do have a small stock of UHT and loo rolls as we always keep in over the winter months in case of bad weather (snow and ice). Local small Sainsbury shop is okay for usual foodstuffs and we shall limit our shopping forays to the minimum, keeping a low social profile.

As an asthma sufferer I have no desire to get any form of respiratory virus, so precautions now are for me already very necessary.  As the situation in Italy shows, this virus can soon overwhelm a nations health care services, and I see a daily increase in the number of cases here in the UK, and across much of the world.  As the latest available stats I'm looking at show, today so far there has been an increase worldwide in those with the virus of 3582 cases, with 230 deaths. Total deaths thus far: 3802. Total cases: 109,632.

It is well worth keeping an eye on the daily stats to get a simple picture of how the virus is spreading, and to appreciate the efforts of the world's health services in trying to deal with the situation.

Obviously world stats are never going to be 100% accurate at any given moment, but it is a useful monitor - and quite an eye opener!

Take a look here, and remember to keep an open mind, a good perspective, and do all that you can to protect yourself and others:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

N.B. note the caveats on the figures presented. For instance, stats for China are usually given one day later than the rest, and I have noted that some countries stats update very frequently, while others may only update once or twice a day. Note also the stats for the USA are apparently hard to accurately assess as there appears to be no national collation.

[MinZaPint]

Does this mean I'll have to take my football boots out of the Bidet? 

[emjaybee]

@daffy it's good to know that some people are taking this seriously. If I hear one more person say "well, it's just like seasonal flu" I swear I'll take to them with a crowbar.

The WHO don't mobilise for seasonal flu.

Countries don't quarantine 16 million people for seasonal flu.

Cruise ships aren't banished for seasonal flu.

Countries/States don't declare national emergencies for seasonal flu.

Countries don't shut down sporting calendars for seasonal flu.

The human body builds up antibodies to seasonal flu which is why you don't get it twice in one season. The WHO have already said that this can be re-caught and that this could well become a seasonal occurrence. 

[guest311]

thought for a moment you meant Roger and the crew were going to do a comeback tour 

[daffy]

@emjaybee  Yes, Im rather perplexed by the attitude of many I interact with as well as those elsewhere on the www.  As the Italian situation shows, this virus can have a rapid and deadly spread, and though the current deaths are predominantly in the senior age ranges, and often for folks with already poor health, it is becoming increasingly clear that no-one is immune.

I noted two BBC News pundits yesterday laughing (perhaps nervously) about the risks, and giving the impression that this is the UK, so it won't happen like in Italy cos we know better.

Okay, so I have existing lung conditions that make me very wary of any illness, but it appalls me that so many appear to be worried more about what is in their larder and store cupboards than they are about taking care when out and about. Just this morning in my local Sainsbury's, when I was on a flying visit for a few fresh veg and milk, I came across the usual winter crop of coughers and sniffers who evidently had scant regard for those around them, and those who seem quite happy to be in close - sometimes very close - contact with others. Maybe they have nothing to worry about. But maybe.......

All I would say is that if it does spread here rapidly and with deadly consequences for some, then it will come as no surprise to me.

The Covid-19 virus is NOT the flu, it is not a little cold, it is a novel, sometimes deadly virus with as yet poorly understood transmission capabilities, and it is already having a dramatic and crippling effect upon the world's economy and health. And from the link I posted earlier, and elsewhere on the web, there is some sober reading about some of its victims who, from first noting the virus within them, had died within about a week.

[Snowwolflair]

I'd just like to get some toilet rolls, that's how I see it 

At some point you may have to consider buying secondhand 

Plenty kitchen towel can be rinsed out, dried and used again 

[guest311]

don't think we'll see that on the advert for 'one sheet' 

[guest311]

NEWS FLASH ......
BRINKS MAT ANNOUNCE CONTRACT WITH TESCO FOR DELIVERY OF TOILET ROLLS IN ARMED CONVOYS ....

and you think I'm joking 

[Snowwolflair]

Please treat this information with caution, however, a former colleague who is linked to a company producing test kits for Covid19 told me they are struggling to keep the virus alive outside a host beyond 6 hours even in ideal conditions.  They use it to validate the new batches of tests.  Lets hope this is correct.

[daffy]

Interesting @Snowwolflair   

And for those short a £ or two in these trying times, they are looking for volunteers:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/volunteers-infected-coronavirus-3500-bid-21655442

I think I'll pass, even if they are using less virulent strains of the coronavirus.