The Department of Boneheadedness.

[VampyreWraith]

I honestly think a large part of the hysteria and panic buying are driven by the media, at least in this country.

They clearly have their own agendas here, one of which is their own ratings. It's a variation on what they do with large weather events such as snowstorms & such. Any time there's a possibility of harsh weather, all of the news outlets hype the heck out if it so that people tune in during the next newscast to get the "latest" on the incoming storm. The real storm, when it arrives, very rarely lives up to the "storm of the century" the media has portrayed it as.

No proposed restrictions I've heard of restrict people's access to groceries and other essentials. But the media coverage has convinced many that they won't be able to buy essentials and therefore has created the panic and shortages we are seeing today.

^This. This past Saturday my son calls me in a panic:

Son: Mom when I get home from work we have to go shopping for groceries.

Me: Why? I already went shopping the other day. We have enough of everything we need.

Son: Are you sure because they're going to be closing all the grocery stores.

Me: Um, no they're not. Anyway we have enough for awhile. (I buy lots of food when I see it on sale, so I'm pretty well stocked).

The thing is if they close all the stores for an extended period of time they're going to let the a lot of very people who are most vulnerable to this virus starve unless they have some kind of food delivery service in place. A lot of older people only have social security as their income, most of them aren't going to have the money to stockpile food and other necessities. They're probably only able to buy a little at a time as their income allows. A lot of people in general are going to starve (without another plan in place) if they shut grocery stores for an extended period of time. No one (government/politician) is going to want to be responsible for letting people starve, so they're not going to close grocery stores for an extended period of time without a plan in place to get people the things they need.

[Gatefan1976]

Yeah, screw the people who are actually trying to keep those shelves full and have to deal with the walking arsehats that most customers are at the best of times.

On the bright side, considering people now realise that people who work in grocery stores are deemed "essential", you might consider paying them more.

[VampyreWraith]

I don't know about other places in this country or the world, but nyc has a min wage of $15 per hour (so they're making at least that here). And (if it's like clothing/department stores) most places give you time and a half if you work overtime (usually over 40hrs a week), so that's at least $22.50 an hour for the hours you worked over. A lot of customers really suck (I work in retail, so I know all about that), but considering that there are a ton of people in the restaurant and bar industry and other industries as well that are out of work because of this, it's pretty good imo.

[epg20]

with everything that is going on with this covid-19 I can't help but think of all the conspiracy theorists out there and what they are thinking. back in the 90's I used to listen to a radio station that had alex jones and a bunch of other guys who used to say things like how the government was coming for us, alex jones said one time that black helicopters were hovering his house in the middle of the night to spy on him, and a bunch of others used to talk about how the government was going to create some kind of national emergency so they could move us all into "compact cities" no idea what that is, and how you need to have a "secured secret place" with plenty of survival food and emergency communications and enough ammunition to protect your family. I just can't help thinking about what those guys are doing now.

[epg20]

it doesn't take a lot of money to create a bit of storage, I usually but 4 cans of chili, even before things got this bad, and I started to buy 6 cans of chili, I ate 4 and put 2 cans in storage, it is like getting ready for a hurricane, you know that it is coming, just get a little more than you need, even if it is just 1 thing, like getting ready for that hurricane season, each time you go to the grocery store buy a pack of batteries, even if you don't need them, just when you go shopping for the week, just pick up 1 pack of batteries, or cans of corn, or toilet paper, or bread or milk, or what ever, you may not need it NOW, but who knows maybe 2-3 years from now. you don't need to buy 10 or 20 of what ever, just get 1 or 2 more that is all. ONE MORE THING if you MUST have hand sanitizer and you can't find a bottle of it around, try carrying around a cloth in a plastic bag with some DENATURED ALCOHOL in it, you can wash the cloth and re use it, and when it is wet, it won't come apart like tissues.

[Platschu]

My store manager has decided to sell only 4 cans of baby milk in our pharmacy. What have the people done? They have sent in the husbands again for a second round. Or they pay at the pharmacy tills, but then pay again at the main till as well. And when my store manager has told a few of them he was threatened to report him to Head Office. People even answere to his question that they don't care about other people's need or children.

Maybe I have said it, but I am a pharmacist. We have completly run out of every paracetamol tablets, suspensions and co-codamol products. Then a mother has come in with a 5 months old baby and she has asked "what shall I do now?!!" And it was such a sad scene and it has reminded me to a scene from the Titanic movie, because ill children will always be there with or without the coronavirus. But panic buyers are mega selfish.

Pharmacy wise we are under extreme pressure. People are begging for home deliviries, while half of our drivers are 60+ so they are self isolating. We have offered as a temporary solution that if they are willing to drive to our parkway, then we can carry out their meds to the cars. And instead of thaking this idea they have started to curse as really badly, that we want to kill them blablabla. I have never seen such mass hysteria around and people have really lost their common sense.

[Annoyed]

I don't know about other places in this country or the world, but nyc has a min wage of $15 per hour (so they're making at least that here). And (if it's like clothing/department stores) most places give you time and a half if you work overtime (usually over 40hrs a week), so that's at least $22.50 an hour for the hours you worked over. A lot of customers really suck (I work in retail, so I know all about that), but considering that there are a ton of people in the restaurant and bar industry and other industries as well that are out of work because of this, it's pretty good imo.

NYC is an aberration, even within NY state. Like anything else in this godforsaken state, NYC must receive more than the rest of the state in anything that has be legislated. So, the min. wage laws have higher minimums for NYC than the rest of the state.I think the rest of the state is 11 bucks or something.

[epg20]

that is something we have seen when a hurricane threatens, people rush to buy generators and buy al the batteries and bottled water as they can, but the worst is what happens after word, people go looking for food or bottled water and you see people with their truck bed full of water selling a single bottle for 20 dollars and those who need gasoline find people selling it for 100 dollars a gallon and worse people charge 50 dollars an hour to clean up a yard for those who can't to it for them selves and more if there is a tree that needs to be removed.

[VampyreWraith]

NYC is an aberration, even within NY state. Like anything else in this godforsaken state, NYC must receive more than the rest of the state in anything that has be legislated. So, the min. wage laws have higher minimums for NYC than the rest of the state.I think the rest of the state is 11 bucks or something.

I think it's a it's like $13.50 on long Island and in Westchester County and the rest of the state pays a little more than $11. Things cost more here though, the rent here can be obscene. We also have more people living here (and that includes more poor people), so getting more resources than the rst of the state makes sense to me. I know other places in the he US also have a $15 an hour min wage. I think the federal min wage it s still $7.25, which I think is pretty sucky.

[VampyreWraith]

Mayor Bill de Blasio has over the past several days continued to float the idea of shelter in place in New York City, a measure that has been taken in Italy and the Bay Area in California, where residents are still allowed to leave home to exercise or shop.

But Mr. Cuomo has called shelter in place a “buzzword” that evokes the era of fallout shelters and the dangling threat of nuclear war.

“Communicate what you mean without using terms that nobody understands,” he said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/n...rk-update.html

I think that kind of stuff is a big problem too. People hearing that there might be a "lockdown", "quarantine", or a "shelter in place edict" on the news from officials. Most people are just hearing those words and not the details behind them so they don't exactly know what that's going to entail and they probably start imagining the stuff they see in those apocalyptic outbreak/nuclear disaster movies and the like and start to panic.

[Falcon Horus]

We're in a lockdown mode.

We have to stay home as much as possible.
We can only go to work if there's no other way, like working from home is not possible.
We can still go out to buy food, including pet food.

However, if you go outside to the shops we have to maintain a distance of 1.5 meters between each person, and this includes people living underneath the same roof.

We are still allowed to go outside for a walk or in the yards but again... stay away from one another for at least 1.5 meters.

We are not allowed to meet in groups with friends f.e. -- this will inevitably get you a 200 euro fine.

Family members too have to keep apart as much as possible.

Funerals are still allowed but there can be no more than 20 people attending and nothing can be touched, and no hand shaking.

Weddings are cancelled.

Most all shops, non-food, have to close. Bars, restaurants... closed. Quick, Burger King and MacDonalds are also closed.

If you have any of the following: coughing, sneezing, fever, shortness of breath -- self-isolation is a must. Many people have already self-quarantined because they came in contact with COVID-19 patients or suspect they might be infected.

I have been confined to quarters the past week because I had a cold.

[VampyreWraith]

Most non essential places have voluntarily closed (a lot of it is because no one is actually going in those places). I work for a pretty big retail company and we will be closed for at least 2 weeks. Everyone is getting paid for their scheduled shifts for that time period. We already can't have gatherings of more that like 10 people and it's recommended that we stay 6ft from others. Restaurants and cafes are limited to take out and delivery. Bars can do that too as long as there's food to go along with the alcohol. People have already been asked to self isolate if they believe they've been exposed, if it's known that they've been in contact with people who have tested positive I think they're required to be tested and quarantined.

To add: Honestly, I think the focus at the start of this thing (like when it was known that the virus had spread outside of China to multiple countries) especially for areas with a high population density, should have been to prepare for the inevitable spread to people who would need to be hospitalized. Even if the majority of people who tested positive wouldn't need hospitalization, there were alway going to be lots of people who needed to be because of age and/or prior health issues.

[Annoyed]

and no hand shaking.

Call me anti-social, but I've been politely (or not so politely, depending upon how insistent the other party is) declining handshakes for at least 20 years now. I'll keep my germs and you keep yours, 'k?

Going forward, future attempts will be met with the Vulcan salute from Star Trek TOS. (See how important the old, original shows are?)

Most all shops, non-food, have to close. Bars, restaurants... closed. Quick, Burger King and MacDonalds are also closed.

Local authorities shut the bars & restaurants down early this week, and today they're closing malls, amusement facilities and such. Food joints are open for take-out only. Grocery stores are still open, but on limited hours and some are setting aside hours for older folks, 60+. Which I do qualify for. Not that it matters, the shelves are empty.

I have been confined to quarters the past week because I had a cold.

See, you're looking at this back-arsewards. Staying home is a GOOD thing. Even during "normal" times, going out of the house is a royal P.I.T.A.
Now, go park yourself in front of the TV and watch Star Trek TOS.

[Annoyed]

NOTE: VampyreWraith's post slightly altered to include the material she was quoting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/n...rk-update.html

Mayor Bill de Blasio has over the past several days continued to float the idea of shelter in place in New York City, a measure that has been taken in Italy and the Bay Area in California, where residents are still allowed to leave home to exercise or shop.

But Mr. Cuomo has called shelter in place a “buzzword” that evokes the era of fallout shelters and the dangling threat of nuclear war.

“Communicate what you mean without using terms that nobody understands,” he said.

I think that kind of stuff is a big problem too. People hearing that there might be a "lockdown", "quarantine", or a "shelter in place edict" on the news from officials. Most people are just hearing those words and not the details behind them so they don't exactly know what that's going to entail and they probably start imagining the stuff they see in those apocalyptic outbreak/nuclear disaster movies and the like and start to panic.

Cuomo needs to shut up and go away. His ego knows no bounds. Permanantly, if I had my way. What makes him think he knows better than the local authorities?

[VampyreWraith]

Call me anti-social, but I've been politely (or not so politely, depending upon how insistent the other party is) declining handshakes for at least 20 years now. I'll keep my germs and you keep yours, 'k?

Going forward, future attempts will be met with the Vulcan salute from Star Trek TOS. (See how important the old, original shows are?)


Local authorities shut the bars & restaurants down early this week, and today they're closing malls, amusement facilities and such. Food joints are open for take-out only. Grocery stores are still open, but on limited hours and some are setting aside hours for older folks, 60+. Which I do qualify for. Not that it matters, the shelves are empty.


See, you're looking at this back-arsewards. Staying home is a GOOD thing. Even during "normal" times, going out of the house is a royal P.I.T.A.
Now, go park yourself in front of the TV and watch Star Trek TOS.

I have social anxiety, (it can get really bad for me a times). On a normal day I only leave the house to go to work and walk my dogs ( i work at a shopping center so the supermarket is right there so no extra trips outside lol). No social gatherings and staying at home doesn't bother me in the least. I also hate having people in my personal space, so people being recommended to stay 6ft away from others is a good thing for me.

NOTE: VampyreWraith's post slightly altered to include the material she was quoting.



Cuomo needs to shut up and go away. His ego knows no bounds. Permanantly, if I had my way. What makes him think he knows better than the local authorities?

I really do think Cuomo has a point about being careful with how things are worded so as to not induce more of a panic.