Update 3/27/2020: Knowledge is empowering: Watch this video from Dr. David Price of the Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine at Weill Cornell in NYC.
Dr. Price recorded an exceptional video call with friends and family on how to protect yourself and family from the perspective of a healthcare provider. It’s the first thing in weeks that has given me hope and confidence to act without being afraid.
The video is about 50 mins long (it’s worth it), and the first 15-20 minutes are the main points and the last part is Q&A. I noted my key take-aways below for reference but the video is great.
How Do You Get COVID-19?
- The overwhelming majority will get it by touching someone/something that has COVID-19 germs and then touching your hand to your face (eyes, nose, mouth)
- Sustained contact (15-30 mins) with someone who has COVID-19 in a closed room without a mask when the disease is aerosolized.
COVID-19 is In Your Community, but If You Protect Yourself You Won’t Get the Disease
- Know your hands are clean at all times. Keep hand sanitizer with you and use it to keep your hands clean when you go out.
- Break the connection between your hands and face. You must train yourself to stop touching your face.
- You don’t need a medical mask, they are not protecting the general public from getting COVID-19. However, wearing a mask, scarf, or bandanna in general can be a good way to help you break your connection between your hands and face. There is still a severe shortage of medical masks so if you have some, donate them.
- Social distance (3-6 feet) yourself from others when you have to go out.
- Shrink your social circle. Find your isolation group of 3-4 people and set boundaries. The people who are going to get this are maintaining large social circles. You can go to the store without fear as long as you keep your hands clean and don’t touch your face.
What Should You Do When You Get COVID-19?
The vast majority of the spread in the world is through family transmission. If you have a fever and you are otherwise fine, isolate yourself from your family for 7 days (separate bedroom and bathroom). You don’t want sustained contact with the person who is sick.
If the sick person has to interact with people, before they leave the bedroom, wash hands, and put on a mask. Anything they touch needs to be washed. You as the caregiver can’t be in and out of the patients bedroom touching the thermometer, etc.
Go to the hospital if you have shortness of breath.
Stay Healthy! And, don’t touch your face 🙂
Ms BA
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Original Post
Last week was an exciting week between the Coronavirus and the dip in the stock market! The financial media is in full on death spiral mode and so is reporting on the virus. With this in mind, today I thought I’d share how we are preparing for the Coronavirus, and keeping a level head when it seems like all around us is unraveling.
We took a three pronged approach to planning:
- Stock up on supplies – Just in case.
- Stay informed on news
- Create a Quarantine Bucket List
Stock Up on Staples
Stocking up on staples seemed like a logical first step for preparing for the Coronavirus this past weekend. Even if we don’t need the extra items in the end, I live in a place where having a supply of food is always a good idea any time of the year – flooding and snow storms are real thing around here!
Mr BA braved Costco Friday afternoon, which was surprisingly a little picked over. Clearly we weren’t the only ones heading the general advice to stock up now. We couldn’t even get a few things (Oats, beans, etc)! We are lucky to have a basement freezer and fridge so we have a little extra space, or at least we did until Friday night.
I’m thrilled to be able to avoid big crowds in grocery stores should the virus hit close to home since I’m the one that usually does the grocery shopping. On the down side, we got our signals crossed and now have over 15 lbs of Mandarin oranges. I love them, but HOW are two people going to eat that many!
In terms of how much to buy, we were going for a month’s worth of supplies but I didn’t do my usual meal planning like I do each week. We just bought staples which could fit in the freezer or remain on the shelf. Need some inspiration? I put our list below.
Preparing for Coronavirus – The Stock-up List:
- Hand soap
- Coffee
- Tea
- Chicken
- Tuna
- Mayo
- Peanut butter
- Paper towels
- Bread
- Tissues
- Oatmeal
- Beans
- Rice
- Salmon
- Chicken soup base
- Grapes
- Frozen blueberries and strawberries
- Oat milk
- Sudafed
News
The non-stop coverage of the news can be a blessing and a curse when preparing for Coronavirus. A blessing in that I can get the latest news coverage any time I think about it – it’s a click away on my phone. It’s a curse in that I can go down the rabbit hole a little too easily any time my mind wanders.
Mr BA and I say up to speed via the general news outlets, but today I also checked in on J L Collins’ blog and was not disappointed. He provided the reassurances of market ups and downs he’s so well known for. Are you familiar with his work? If not check out his blog . You will not be disappointed. He also has a fabulous mediation for when stock market melts down. I know I’m going to be putting it into practice in the coming days – or at least that is what the news keeps telling me.
Adjustment Reaction
I read this great Vox article that said we should psychologically prepare for a pandemic.
“The “adjustment reaction”— that is, the stress, hypervigilance, obsessive reading about a crisis, imagining its effects on your family, and worrying — “is a step that is hard to skip on the way to the new normal,” Lanard and Sandman write. “Going through it before a crisis is full-blown is more conducive to resilience, coping, and rational response than going through it mid-crisis.” So be forgiving of yourself if you’re having an “adjustment reaction” or if your friends and loved ones are.” writes Kelsey Piper at Vox.
And, this seems fair, so I’ve started a Quarantine Bucket List to keep my spirits up. These are the things I’m looking forward to doing if I end up under quarantine in my home, have to limit travel, or need to implement general social distancing. All of these things assume I’m well or at least feeling up to the task. I’m a big fan of taking the time needed to recover. Remember, stay home and recover if you aren’t feeling well. No need to spread germs to co-workers and others. I work primarily from home with some travel mixed in from time to time, so I anticipate being able to work throughout any quarantine periods with perhaps a little less travel this year than in years past if this thing starts to really take off in the US.
My Quarantine Bucket List
- Blog writing – no surprise there! Can’t wait to build out this blog further.
- Plant seed starts for the veggie garden. We have access to a big garden that we can plant with veggies and flowers for the entire growing season at Mr BA’s job. While I prefer to buy starts to make the most of the season, I’ve also had success with growing some starts and transplanting them too. I have more than enough seeds and little planting pods to put them in, so time to get dirty.
- Clean the house. Give the house a good deep cleaning. With the virus that’s always a good idea, but I’m talking top to bottom cleaning for spring – make it look like an Open House, as my mother would say.
- Organize and declutter the house and garage. Sometimes I’m better at decluttering in the spring, but not always. Right now, I’ve noticed I’ve gotten into a habit of holding on to things (random and otherwise) a little more than normal. Time to curate the collection and Mari Kondo this place!
- Exercise. While I exercise most days, this would be perhaps specific to starting a yoga practice or getting back onto Pilates with either some work out video from Amazon or even perhaps more strength training. Clearly any quarantine may impose some restrictions here that have to be taken into consideration. This will also mean getting into a regular habit to strengthen my back and shoulder. Some back exercises have fallen by the wayside since my surgery and need to be picked up again. And, the shoulder pain is due to too much time on the computer with not the best posture. Nevertheless, I have exercises that also help with that. So this will be dedicating time to get back into the groove with these exercises.
- House projects. Probably time to start getting serious about some of the house projects like the windows, kitchen and painting (in and out). Time to make some real plans with Mr BA.
- Make new soap with exfoliants. Last year I started learning how to make soap and I love the process. I love adding some sort of exfoliant to my soaps since it makes me linger longer while washing my hands. With the Coronavirus, handwashing is being hailed as one of our best defenses in addition to cleaning up high traffic surfaces/areas. Rest assured, I will be doing anything to hedge my chances of getting my full 20 seconds of proper hand washing in.
- Plan trips. I love to travel, however many of our trips have been for visiting family as of late. But Mr BA and I love a good adventure, so it’s time to get serious about booking some trips when it’s safe to, of course. Time to get exploring with the points we’ve accumulated.
- Call family more. I’m hoping this one will be easy if I implement a schedule and stick to it.
- Sew. This is something I pick-up from time to time. I have a machine and would love to knock out a few projects I haven’t gotten around to but know would make me happy.
- Knitting. For two seasons now I’ve wanted a chunky scarf I can snuggle up with. I think I’m going to get some chunky yarn and find a good youtube channel and put my skills to the test. If you know of any please let me know – I need recommendations.
- Bake this Banana cake. It just sounds amazing right now and that cream cheese frosting is calling my name. This cake will be made this year regardless!
- Taxes. Depending on timing of the quarantine, this one may still need to be done. We’ll see!
- Books & Games. We have quite a few classics we can always break out. Need some inspiration? Check out my Recommended Books list.
- Face masks. These are always fun (and for guys too). I got a Zombie Face Mask for Christmas that I think Mr BA would like to try with me next time instead of just taking crazy pictures of me.
- Christmas Gifts. Mr BA and I like to do something special and handmade for our close friends and family. And, frankly, we always start planning way too late. We are always scrambling last minute with something. So, we’ll start our planning early this year.
Bottom Line on Preparing for the Coronavirus
So rather than letting my fears get the best of me, I’m working through my own adjustment reaction. Of course, we are preparing where we can for the Coronavirus. But, I’m also planning to look forward to some adjustments with the help of my Quarantine Bucket List. Hopefully, by this time next year we’ll have forgotten all about the virus, my list, and moved on to the next big thing. Whatever that may be.
Also a side note, I traveled on Monday and it was not as scary as I was expecting. The American Airlines flight took smelled nice/clean and there was only one person who sneezed on during the whole flight. I saw several people wiping down the tray tables and seats with Lysol wipes and I was one of them!
How are you preparing for the Coronavirus? What’s been successful? What have you run out of that you wish you stocked up on? We are all in this together. Share below in the comments!
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