The Coronavirus Panic Thread

[EricKei]

Shadow - Thanks! I'll give it a shot. I've been trying to transition to diet sodas only (as I've given up on the notion of "no sodas" entirely -- I don't drink alcohol nor coffee, so I gotta have this fix ) -- I kinda like Coke Zero (while I can't stand Diet Coke -- Zero is basically DC with a different sweetener), though. Now I just need to find decaf Zero (if it even exists) and I'll be all set ^_^

Mike - I'm using a cloth mask with a HEPA filter (read: a cut-up anti-allergen vacuum bag) slotted into it. Might be worth considering. Not itchy at all, though it still fogs up my specs like nobody's business.


P.S. ((()))

[Pixelated]

Was driving home Friday and saw the approximately 30-strong lineup at ... the liquor store. Good thing our province declared beer and liquor stores "essential" businesses ...

I'm trying to join up with an online group that makes face masks for distribution to where they're needed ... but apparently you NEED a cellphone with access to the internet to join! I have a cellphone but it's never been set up for internet connection, unless I'm somewhere with free WiFi ... rather hard to find these days. I've written twice to the organization and posted twice on two different sites (local and their main site) asking if there's any other way I can join. Hopefully I will get an answer soon. It's rather annoying that this seems to be a requirement to be a participating member.

[Smapti]

There's a logic to keeping liquor stores open - if a heavy drinker goes cold turkey it can easily land them in the hospital, and the last thing we need right now is a bunch of alcoholics taking up beds.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

There's a logic to keeping liquor stores open - if a heavy drinker goes cold turkey it can easily land them in the hospital, and the last thing we need right now is a bunch of alcoholics taking up beds.

Our ABC stores have remained open during the shutdown as well, as our state has deemed them "Essential business."


Even though our local stay at home order ended on April 16, we are still observing the statewide one that runs through April 30.


We're still experiencing massive out of stocks, but some items are slowly coming back in at the Litter Box. TP still in small spurts, but still no santizer or wipes.


Our warehouse temporarily switched us to 2 trucks a week over the last two weeks (Wed. and Sat.) which resulted in MASSIVE sized deliveries (imagine an entire 53 foot trailer packed to the gills and looking like it's about to poke its sides out!) Not to mention the massive amounts of empty pallets, totes, etc that piles up in my receiving area because the salvage trailer is full within a couple of hours and no in between salvage pickups.



Even with those 2500 piece trucks coming twice a week, we still have giant holes in sections. And while our traffic has slowed down some, with the Coronavirus Relief checks coming into bank accounts everywhere, our business has been picking back up a little bit.


This week we were reverted back to our 3 trucks (Mon-Wed-Fri) for dry grocery. Yesterday's truck wasn't too big - half a truckload and NO paper products at all.


Yet the warehouse will slip in some strange item so we can sell something, like two weeks ago we received 3 PALLETS of Kleenex large size tissues. Sarge had two empty endcaps on the back aisle full of those, which left 2 pallets left in the back room.


They are not moving. Even though we have a scant amount of regular Kleenex boxes on the shelf (maybe 2 or 3 when I left today) they haven't moved. We've just had a price reduction come down on those, so we're waiting to see if we can clear them out to make room for something that will move.


Still no word on when they are going to start temp checks - we're supposed to have a thermal scan thermometer but no sign of it so far. We have some cases of hand sanitizer that was sent in by corporate that was produced locally by a distillery company, so at least we have something to put into the bottles that are used up front at the registers and customer service. Haven't seen masks yet - some of our stores have the masks and clear face shields, but not our area so far.




Kids are still out of school thru May 15, they are to return on the 18th unless Gov. Cooper extends it. Some of the local businesses are being allowed to reopen by the City Council. Mom hear that the hair salons are to open back up, with limited hours. Not sure what other businesses are getting ready to open back up yet, but time will tell.


Right now, we've had just under 3,000 cases reported statewide, and they are still increasing here. So far nobody at my store is sick (evening manager was out a couple of days about 3 weeks or so ago but he's been back and staying out of my hair.)


And even though my store has trouble getting in the TP, I did score some two weekends ago at Wallyworld, as I had just opened the pack that I bought last month when the panic started and had space on the shelf in the laundry room to keep another pack.


Even funnier: Last week I was able to get a 6 pack bundle of paper towels from work. Got them inside and saw an unopened 6 pack bundle sitting on top of the dryer (apparently Mom found some the day before at Wally and forgot to mention that.)


And I have a fresh bundle pack of Kleenex, so I'm set for a good while.

[Pixelated]

There's a logic to keeping liquor stores open - if a heavy drinker goes cold turkey it can easily land them in the hospital, and the last thing we need right now is a bunch of alcoholics taking up beds.

Not to mention the potential spike in domestic calls as one partner or another -- or both -- goes ballistic because they can't get their alcohol ....

[MoonCat]

In March I got laid off for "economic reasons". Translation: COVID19 tanked all the business we were getting. No ads for open houses, no ads from restaurants, no events taking place, etc.

It was inevitable anyway, as I did not and could not fit into the company culture, and it was much too "hard sell" for me. So that's my third job gone poof since 2017.

Not much to be had in the way of new jobs, as all they seem to be hiring around here are retail workers (can't stand all day, can't lift much) and healthcare workers (not my field). So I'm staying home except for once a week grocery runs, and dealing with a second bout of frozen shoulder (this time on my right side).

I cannot buy real masks for love or money, every place is out of stock, so I'm using a folded-up bandana (several DIY vids on Youtube show you how), which is a PITA because my glasses keep fogging up no matter what I do.

My healthcare insurance runs out April 30. I will have to see if I can get on the Medicaid site because that's my only option at this point. I am almost 63, I have worked for 42 years, and I am fucking sick of it. Wish I'd saved more money when I was younger!

[scruff]

I'm on furlough, and have been all month, i.e. I'm out of work, and the UK government is paying nearly 80% of my wages till end of June (I'm not looking forward to what will happen in July).
Added to that I live on my own, so I'm having to stay home on my own as England is in lockdown...
The pay cut is ok, as I'm not travelling for work, but it does bring into sharp relief how bad my elderly Dad's memory is.
We had a video call today, twice he asked "What's new with you?" and I had to remind him I've been isolating at home for 4 weeks, so, nothing? And he suggested I ring at the weekend when I'm not working...

[MadMike]

Today I scored a thing of Lysol wipes. It was the last one on the shelf. Go me!

[workerbee222]

The grocery item randomizer spun and today: The super-store is still out of flour (why?) out of 1/4" elastic (not surprising, but disappointing) but does have big bottles of liquid hand soap. (Yay, because slimy wet bars of soap at the sink trouble me somehow.) Less appealing is the 15-minute wait to get in, because the number of customers allowed in the store at any time is based on its square footage.

[Monterey Jack]

A surprisingly large amount of paper products on the shelf when I went in to cash my paycheck today. Maybe they just put out a mid-day selection, but it's an encouraging sign.

[Dreamstalker]

Yesterday I get a surprise notification from unemployment....fraud investigation. WTF? I answered the questionnaire the best that I could ("I have been filing each week as requested and was not made aware of any issues until today" that's my story and I'm sticking to it). They kept referring to "the weeks in question"...um, would be nice if I knew what weeks you were talking about.

They also sent me another questionnaire about the $100/week that we were getting for all of two weeks in the beginning...questions were phrased as if I was still getting it. Bit late on that one guys.

My company got the PPP, so we will be paid most of our wages starting next week so I can go off UI then. Bit concerned that they'll still come after me for whatever they think I did...honestly I have no idea.

[EricKei]

I lucked out at Voldemart the other day -- and I'm proud to say I stuck to the 1-pack each limits on TP and paper towels. They were, respectively, a 24-pack and a 12-pack, but still one each I live alone, so that's enough to hold me until, say, Thanksgiving on TP and at least this time next year on PT!

[notalwaysright]

I got Lysol wipes today... The store had maybe half a shelf worth at 9 AM. Based on how many people grabbed one just in the one minute I was in that aisle, I doubt they lasted an hour. I normally would never buy a thing of 80 since they would dry up before I'd use them all, but that was the only size there. I guess I'll go and sanitize the shared laundry room all the time.

Flour totally gone. Last week there was at least a few bags, nothing today. However there was no security guard at the door, less big metal barricades, and no employee directing customers to cashiers. They still had notices saying to stay back until the person in front was done with the transaction, and lines on the floor. All in all, it was decent. I like wearing masks, I started the day the CDC changed their recommendation. Mostly because then you can't see my face if I'm scowling, lol.

[MadMike]

A surprisingly large amount of paper products on the shelf when I went in to cash my paycheck today. Maybe they just put out a mid-day selection, but it's an encouraging sign.

Paper products seem to be getting easier to find. I scored a 12-roll pack of paper towels last week, and then managed to find a decent number of 24-roll packs of name brand toilet paper. I took two of them, but felt somewhat guilty later. Although in my defense, now that we're fairly stocked up on paper stuff, I won't take anymore until we start running low again. I'm not going to stockpile it like some people are apparently doing.

Cleaning stuff is still hard to find. A couple weeks ago, I placed an order for cat litter, paper towels, toilet paper, wipes, and sanitizer. It finally got delivered Tuesday night, but all they had was the cat litter and the toilet paper. And at that point, I had already managed to find some on my own. Luckily, I managed to find a thing of wipes, and someone was able to spare some sanitizer and another things of wipes. She has a personal shopper who checks multiple stores on the same day, and she said she'd try to find me some more.

[Food Lady]

Just gonna leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUVNlPWK7L4