The Coronavirus Panic Thread

[telecom_goddess]

I grocery shop every Sunday usually, and I wasn't sure what the situation was going to be like at my local store I always go to. I looked at online delivery but it wasn't available to schedule for days, same with instacart and another store I checked. Even pickup wasn't available for days. Sooooooooooo I ended up doing Amazon fresh. I had an order open already to be delivered Saturday night, ordering toilet paper (No I'm not hoarding but I am supplying us for about 2 months), and I could still add to my order. Since the delivery time was guaranteed I added most of my groceries to that. What little I couldn't get there we did get at the physical store, which wasn't as bad as I had feared, although the paper products aisle was cleared out. Everything else was pretty good. Now I had no way to know that and I was in NO mood to try it out blind and run the risk of the store being empty on everything.

On a work related note, I'm trying to get 14 days off paid due to being older, being diabetic and having copd/asthma. That JUST got offered finally. Wish me luck.

[TheWolfEmperor]

Had three customers ask me if we were closing for several weeks. They didn't think it was at all odd that I was so calm for someone who would possibly lose income for several weeks.

[NorthernZel]

So, situation in my country right now:

• all borders shut except for cargo transport or "essential travel" (like getting from and to work, gotta bring a metric f-ton of documentation like passport, job contract AND latest payslip, I kid you not)
• all schools closed, parents are asked to homeschool where the schools provide online material
• ppl are asked to work from home as much as possible (I have a 2 day at office / 3 day at home schedule)
• public transport is frowned upon (especially during rush hour)
• social distancing is recommended, not obligatory (yet)

aaaand of course people are still hoarding. Not toilet paper, mind you - things like milk, yeast, beer and naturally hand sanitizer are hard to get.

[Marmalady]

So, yesterday at the store where I work, one of the managers got 6 packs of nappies thrown at her when she told someone he could only have two packs instead of the eight he'd picked up. A cashiers got two tins of beans (I think they were beans, definitely tinned food anyway) thrown at her by another customer who'd been told they were being limited too. And one of the warehouse staff got effed and blinded at for telling a customer there was no pasta. There are now signs up saying that abuse of staff will not be tolerated.

[Seanette]

And six counties in California's Bay Area are now under "shelter in place" orders.

[Pixelated]

So far I've had no problems with customers, but if we have to start limiting quantities, that might change ...

I've yet to see any TP on the shelves, although I have heard of this mythical thing called "stock delivery" in which TP shows up, is put on the shelves, and then vanishes into the ether within a couple of hours ....

The produce section, which was stripped almost bare Saturday night, was refilled Sunday. By Sunday night there were huge stretches of emptiness again ....

I worked nearly 8 hours Thursday (due to the pandemonium), and a normal (if frantic) shift Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The phone rang at 9 a.m. today. Me: "I know who you are and what you want and the answer is NO." Caller sounded absolutely panic-stricken; Mondays are normally busy (parents -- usually moms -- drop kids off at school and then come get groceries) and I don't know whether there were more customers than usual, or lots of people had called in sick, or what ... but I need a break. My Annual Winter Cold had gone away but now I've got a cough coming back (no fever or breathing issues or other indications that it's COVID-19).

Stores are starting to close down. Canada's signature coffee-and-donut shops are cutting out all in-store dining; now it's takeout and drive-thru only. The store that I prefer to buy my toiletries from has announced a nation-wide two-week (I think) shutdown of its stores. I don't see grocery stores doing that, but who knows ....

[EricKei]

Northern Mississippi here. Small number of confirmed cases a county or two over. State has been under State of Emergency for a few days; my county yesterday, as a precaution.

Restaurants are mostly in drive-thru only mode, with some considering shutting down -- even "Dice pizza" (where a friend of mine works -- her hours have been slashed to below half, and, as the town's only uber/lyft type driver that I know of, that business has dried up completely). Small enough town (~25K in the city proper) that it's mostly Kroger and Voldemart that have gotten hit by people hoarding stuff; smaller places are getting hit, but not as hard.

Public gatherings, wisely, have all been nuked. Local gov't has been recommending "shelter in place" for some time now. No word on food nor financial aid for those who need it. Grocery delivery has basically halted; curbside grocery pickup is a crapshoot, with time slots hard to come by (I had to order on Sunday to get a slot on Wednesday). Grocery stores ran out of bags to give customers a couple days ago; now using boxes, asking customers to bring reusable bags, cutting their hours, and setting up "senior citizens only for the first hour" shopping sessions in the mornings.

[Dreamstalker]

Restaurants are drive thru/takeout/app-only ordering, most have waived delivery fees. No gatherings of more than 10 people, down from 25 a few days ago. A couple of my favorite stores are closed for at least a week, but most (and a few stores that have said "we might close") have made promises to pay employees as if it was a regular work period...if another multi-state company can do that, there's no reason mine can't.

The grocery store at the end of our street has made special shopping hours for seniors; an hour before they open to the public. Which makes sense, they can be the first in after the store is cleaned/stocked to limit exposure and let them get items that would otherwise be hoarded.

[jedimaster91]

I work at a small, rural hospital. We are woefully underprepared. Our redtop sanitation wipes don't kill COVID viruses. We need the purple top wipes (I think the difference is the purple ones have bleach and red ones don't). This was only realized Friday, so of course the manufacturer is sold out. There is one box of isolation gowns in the entire building and it's locked up in our hot lab. Only a few boxes of N95 respirator masks, but those don't fit me quite right and I need a 3M turtle mask. Guess how many of those we have. None.



On the civilian side of things, paper products and over the counter medicines are pretty hard to come by. I had to get cough medicine (darn springtime allergies) and multivitamins for my four year old and it was the worst kind of scavenger hunt. The pasta aisle at Aldi was empty too. And to think people thought I was nuts for making my own pasta. I think my recent interest in cooking more from scratch is going to serve me well for the next while.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I GOT TOILET PAPER ON SATURDAY I'M KING OF THE WORLD KNEEL BEFORE YOUR TWO-PLY COMFORT-WEAVE MASTER.

That is all.

[MadMike]

We normally go grocery shopping when we get paid, which is every other weekend. Last time was two Saturdays ago. The paper aisle was nowhere near full but it wasn't empty either. That's since changed, and while I think we're OK for now, I wish I had picked up a little extra when I had the chance. I was out at the store yesterday and not only are the paper products and hand sanitizer picked clean, but the meat case was almost completely wiped out.

Restaurants are take-out only now, as are bars, which means I'm going into karaoke withdrawal. Oh, and the liquor stores, which are run by the state, are closed "until further notice."

Schools are closed for two weeks.

Yesterday, my job announced that they're closing the building to everyone except those who have to be there. Those who can telecommute are to do that, and those that can't are basically getting paid days off. From what I understand, the building is locked down and I couldn't get inside now even if I wanted to. For now, it's just for a week but that could change.

[Food Lady]

I GOT TOILET PAPER ON SATURDAY I'M KING OF THE WORLD KNEEL BEFORE YOUR TWO-PLY COMFORT-WEAVE MASTER.

That is all.

I love you for making me laugh about this.

[Buzzard]

The local WallyWorld had on-duty police officers by the stacks of bottled water that just arrived. It's amazing what people will panic buy that doesn't even contribute to their potential survival. A damn shame that police had to be on site to keep people from becoming animals.

[Monterey Jack]

The bottled water thing is amazing, because it's not the water that's making people sick, so why not have it right from the tap and save that money for stuff you do need?

[EricKei]

I GOT TOILET PAPER ON SATURDAY I'M KING OF THE WORLD KNEEL BEFORE YOUR TWO-PLY COMFORT-WEAVE MASTER

Peasant! I finally got a bidet attachment for my crapper. That makes me the King as I sit upon my throne! ON YOUR KNEES, KNAVE!