Epidemics and Survival

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In early 2020, there was a scare of the “coronovirus” that started in China and slowly spread through Asian areas and made its way to the United States and other areas outside of Asia. During this time, the Dow Jones of the United States stock market, saw some large drops in value due to concerns over the spread of the virus and news articles saying that a cure or vaccine was at least a year out.

Epidemics of viruses like this can easily cause concern. As I have noted in prior blogs, I have worked around people that used Purell like it was water (and they would still get sick). Beyond that, some start to use face masks when they are out in public and are used more for the children, elderly, and others with greater potential of catching viruses due to immune system issues for various reasons. Others just hoard themselves away in their homes and make sure they Lysol everything that comes in contact with the outside world.

For me, the Coronovirus and other epidemics I have seen in the past all remind me of that movie, Contagion – where the wrong bat met the wrong pig and half of the world population was gone. **Side note: fabulous movie, very well done, realistic enough to make one significantly terrified**

The behavior of epidemics is sort of similar to hurricanes in a way.

At the start, it blips on your radar of awareness. It’s in your mind but it doesn’t really enter the realm of concern yet.

Over time, more and more cases are reported and they show maps of where it started and where cases are being reported. Airports and other transport locations add on to their monitoring of passengers to minimize further spread. The CDC, WHO and other similar organizations come in to do analysis and figure out things to help reduce the spread and generate a vaccine quickly if needed.

Sooner or later, a case shows up in your country, perhaps your state and/or the city where you live. Usually the large metro-cities like NYC, Chicago, LA, Houston….and then reports of deaths start to appear.

As the number of cases and deaths start to add up, people pack on the use of their anti-bacterial protocols. At this point in the hurricane analogy, the general path is more definite in its threat of danger to you and you’re not seeing it out off the coast of Africa where it’s a few weeks away from your location, and those that are more seasoned in hurricanes start getting their last minute preparations in order while others “wait and see”.

I have seen from my own experience how grocery stores will get very empty very quickly. Water and bread are the first shelves I have seen completely wiped out (I guess the gluten-free thing isn’t a concern when such things happen?).

Some will pack up some of their stuff and try to get out before the interstates and highways become parking lots from others evacuating. For a hurricane, evacuation may be necessary from government orders or just personal preference.

However in a situation where it is a virus that is spreading, this may not be a great idea. From what I have observed, they usually happen in big cities where there is high population and very close together. Sometimes it can get out to the more rural areas, but since things and people are more spread out, the virus doesn’t spread quite as fast. Quarantine in large cities I would imagine is quite difficult, simply due to the high population volumes in general. Depending on your situation, it may be better to stay where you are than leave a large city and head out to the rural areas, risking potential further spread – after all, the incubation period is also a factor to consider.

Suggestions for epidemics in your preparations:

• Determine if you are in a high population area where viruses can spread very quickly
• Determine your plans on what to do regarding the epidemic
  • When do you go to a medical facility should you show any symptoms?
  • Are there any members of your family that are more susceptible to catching the virus than others? How will counter-measures be addressed for their delicate immune systems?
  • What plans do you have in place should you decide to limit contact with the outside world? Will you be able to school your children from home, work from home, and operate as normally as possible with your limited excursions to the outside world?
• If you decide to limit your exposure to the outside world:
  • How often and for what purpose(s) would you leave the house?
  • What amount of food, water, medicine, etc. is needed to meet the needs of all persons in your household for an extended period of time?
  • Are you able to supplement any of your nutritional needs from a garden? See this blog post for more on survival gardening.
  • Have you the supplies and skill and space to do meal planning for the preservation of food over long periods of time? See this blog post for more on this subject.

This should get you started in developing your plans for survival during an epidemic, but if you have other items to share, please leave a comment!

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