Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 27, 2020

25 Comments

1. Corona Virus

   There was video of a vehicle fogging the air. Until proven not to be highly contagious, I believe there is ample reason to take this very seriously and prepare to self quarantine. How China is handling this is a huge indication of the threat. It is very serious.
   I will make a few last minute preps, pick up lots of eggs etc, and be ready for the worst. Even accepting packages from China, and then as it spreads, packages from the U.S. might be risky. As I easily get sick, I know that I am particularly susceptible. Because I can disconnect from the world very easily, I will, as the threat emerges or not, in the next few weeks. As it is, I rarely see other people anyway. No loss there…. Trying to protect your self from any air born disease is in actuality very difficult. If it did not persist in the air, I would not be so concerned. Until proven not to be air borne, I will assume it is.
   The difference between a weapons grade contagion, and one that is not, is if it is air born, or not. I am not saying that this is a biological weapon, but using the example to gauge the likelihood of contracting any air born disease. Older persons should take extra precautions, and avoid being down wind of possible vectors.

2. “Don’t get near the Wuhan, and don’t get within spitting/sneezing distance of anyone outside of your immediate family who might have the Wuhan unless you are wearing an N95 mask, gloves, and goggles.”

   The hard thing about this Jim is that there is zero way to tell that anyone has the virus until they are showing obvious symptoms. They won’t know themselves. The incubation period appears to be up to 2 weeks and it now appears that even those without showing symptoms are infectious if they have the virus. So basically this means that anyone anywhere could have it.

   I’m presently pet/housesitting and the people who own this place are in Mexico. They’re flying back this week to the US(can catch this on the plane etc) and then will spend a few weeks back in the US before flying back here so they will be spending a lot of time on planes and in airports. So when they show up at the house they could well be infected and not even know it. My next petsit is supposed to be for people where one spouse is presently in NZ and won’t arrive back til maybe a week before I show up; how would I know if he was infectious? It’s just so complicated. Unless you are presently living in a very remote rural locale and have minimal contact with the outside world(that also has minimal contact with others) it will be very difficult to avoid being infected if the numbers grow in the US(or your locale).

   Also, re; N95 masks, I expect that some people don’t know the difference between the ones with the valves and without. Maybe a brief tutorial on the difference and when to/not to use each type would be good?

   1. Ani, “living in a very remote rural locale” is also very difficult, not the least of which is ‘making a living in a very remote rural locale’.

      It’s seems that you could retain pet/house sitting and manage the risks (setting criteria for each job and avoiding crowds between jobs). That fact that your visit SB and seek knowledge gives you a huge advantage in staying safe.

      There is a voluminous amount of information and advice here. I started with ‘The Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy’ and progressed to bug-outs vs retreats.

      https://survivalblog.com/precepts/

      1. Montana Guy

         I’ve been a “prepper” for quite some time. Have avoided most of the prepper websites as they tend to be pretty bad(this one is an exception so I was pleased to come across it). I’ve been traveling (and petsitting) far and wide for a few years as I don’t want to let fears get in the way of living my life fully. In a very short while I’m planning on settling down again in my own place. I was just making the point about how hard it is with this being such a global world and people traveling everywhere to even have a clue as to who might be infected. And yes, rural locales are hard to earn a living in. I’ve lived in a rural place for a long time and can vouch for how difficult it can be; and I’m not talking “rural” as in some parts of the redoubt either!

   2. Dear Ani and All,

      Staying clear of infectious viruses is very difficult. The main thing to do is pray Psalm 91 over yourself and loved ones everyday. We have friends whose family lived through the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918, in the Spokane area who removed bodies from homes. His grandfather prayed Psalm 91 over his family every single day before leaving their home for work. On their block every home lost a family member or two to the outbreak, but he lost no one in his family. I have heard of other stories of the 91st Division during World War I that prayed Psalm 91 together every day in formations and they had the lowest casualty rate of any front line Division. There are many testimonies of people praying Psalm 91 daily and God covering them and keeping them safe. Trust in the God of Israel. Call on His name which is Yod Heh Vav Heh however you wish to pronounce it. He loves you and He waits for you to call upon His name. He wants to prove to you His love and care for you.

      Also do the practical things; wash hands, don’t touch your face, take supplements, especially to alkanize your body by taking every day, a bit of baking soda, Selenium, Iodine, Magnesium Chloride, vitamins D, C, and Zinc. Keep Elderberry syrup handy, wear a mask and wipe down all surfaces that are touched frequently. Stay away from sugars and bad carbs., since they tend to bring down the immune system. Keep garlic and lemons handy. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

      Now concerning your traveling home owners, I would tell them that you are concerned about their possibility of carrying the virus and I would indicate to them that I’d be wearing a mask when they come home and when you go to them. When you return to one’s home who had been home for a week after traveling from NZ, I’d wear my mask into their home and keep it on for a week, or for what ever length of time we learn that the virus is viable on surfaces. I’d bring my own bedding. After they leave, I would wipe down all surfaces in high traffic areas, door knobs, refrigerator doors and handles, toilet handle, counters, television remotes, everything, and open all windows to air out the house and pray over it. I would shower and change clothes after they leave. These are just ideas to help reduce the potential virus load that may be in the home.

      Jim and I, will try to quarantine after next week as much as we can. We have appointments and stuff we have to do this week and into the first week of Feb. but after that I can and the girls can remain on the ranch indefinitely. Jim will have to go to Post offices, often with the new business and will have to take appropriate safety measures. We have discussed what to do with packages arriving through FedEx and UPS. We will spray them down with a Lysol solution and leave them untouched for a few hours, wear gloves when opening them.

      If anyone else has suggestions please include them here.

      Many blessings to you and all,

      Lily

      1. Hi Lily

         Thanks for your suggestions. I’ve been giving some thought to my traveling pet owners. I can and actually may leave my current petsit once they’ve landed in-state and are on their way back home; that works for me anyway so I don’t have to travel all the way back to northern VT in the dark. I did suggest to the wife of the NZ traveler that he wear a mask and take precautions at the airport, on the plane etc when he returns(she’s a retired nurse so does understand this stuff) but she doubted he’d do it. I suggested she ask him to do it for her so he doesn’t bring back germs that get her sick. Will see. Can’t wait to have my own place again! Just over 5 weeks! 😉

         I think that as so far we have only seen 5 people confirmed with this virus in the US that people aren’t taking it too seriously(although I was just at Ocean State Job Lot and they had a display of hand sanitizer front and center! ).

         Didn’t have any elderberry syrup with me so I ordered it from Amazon yesterday. Do have some N95 masks in my BOB though!

         Re: washing hands. So evidently back in the time of the various plagues that hit Europe in the middle ages there was a bad one which hit Barcelona Spain. I was told there that the Jewish community was way less impacted by the plague and they were thus suspected by the rest of the city as having done something to “cause it”, resulting in serious violence directed at them and expulsion. Now it is believed that the protection was due to the custom of religious Jews to scrupulously wash their hands upon rising in the morning, after visiting the toilet, before any meal etc. which resulted in a much higher level of cleanliness and public health than that of those around them. So yes, wash your hands! 😉

         1. Yes, Jewish People did not contract the Black Plague during the 1400’s because they had cleanliness laws that they kept. They didn’t allow animals in their homes. They killed rats when they saw them. They never left food out and about. They cleaned the house every week for Shabbat. Washed their bedding regularly. They washed their hands. I heard of physicians wrapping their legs with cloths to protect themselves from fleas when they treated patients. Then, because Jewish people didn’t catch the plague in general, they were thought to have caused the plague. Such stupid logic. The Bible does have all of the answers for everything we need to know. Read it and trust it. There is wisdom behind the Biblical laws that we still don’t completely understand the reasons for them today!!

            Much Shalom to you,

            Lily

      2. Hey Lily,

         I think I am going to submit an article tonight, but viruses typically don’t live too long outside of a host. I think this virus is droplet-born. Lysol isn’t a bad idea but letting stuff dry out in the sun would probably work just as well.

         1. Yes, I agree, if the sun is shining!! 🙂 We do not have a lot of sun, at all, this time of the year!! Today the clouds opened up and I saw the sun! I dropped what I was doing and ran outside. Ten minutes later the sun was gone and the rain returned. Welcome to the Inland Northwest in winter!! 😉

            Lily

            1. Here in the Northern Redoubt January is a dreary month, especially this year. Last year I averaged only 500watts of solar charge per day for January. This year it is 171watt average per day so far. I have been total offgrid for 15 years. Generator is a must.

3. Mr. Rawles, I am sorry you had to close comments due to people not keeping the conversation civil. Hopefully people will not discourage you and ruin this great resource. Your work is appreciated and people can disagree without being ignorant to one another. Thank you and keep up the good work.

4. JWR, you’re mentioned in the news again.

   http://news.trust.org/item/20200127092603-ks7hg

5. You are the first I’ve read that even mentions package deliveries. We live very remote and I rarely have contact with anybody other than immediate family. But I got sicker than a dog after doing all my Christmas shopping ONLINE. I’m still recovering.

   But I see many ‘experts’ suggest staying home and shopping online instead, while also pointing out that this virus can survive for days on a doorknob. My concern is all that bubblewrap and those AIR FILLED PILLOWS used to cushion packages. I popped a lot that stuff INDOORS, without a mask. Makes me wonder.

   1. A 10% percent bleach solution should be plenty effective, and oxidize most contaminants. Spray it on, get it soaking wet, and let it sit for about an hour. If bleach might harm the item, check out what Ready Made Resources, or Survival Medicine.com may have https://store.doomandbloom.net/ I”ve got the concentrate of the good stuff, but can’t remember the name. Got at Ready Made Resource many years ago.

      Whatever it is, it has got to be worth the risk. If not, let it alone until the we know how persistent the virus might be.

6. Dr. Dena Grayson has a Twitter feed with updates that may be helpful… She references the combined characteristics of highly contagious and potentially lethal as features that are usually “either-or” in a virus, but not often found together.

   https://twitter.com/DrDenaGrayson/status/1220736284647444485

   ZeroHedge carried this article with her thoughts…

   https://www.zerohedge.com/health/two-nasty-traits-coronavirus-typically-not-seen-together

   Our thinking is that experts are more concerned than they let on given the evacuations, deportations of holiday travelers, quarantine efforts, scramble to develop new hospitalization centers with large numbers of patient beds, the closing of some corporate manufacturing plants, and more.

   We are also concerned about allegations that death certificates in China may not accurately reflect deaths attributable to 2019-nCoV even though, if true, would not be a surprise. It’s difficult for the public to understand the risk from a statistical standpoint without accurate information. If 2019-nCoV was a relatively benign virus, then why not state and present the facts accurately? Any attempt to cover up the truth of the details simply furthers the idea that this is worse (and may be much worse) than officials are saying publicly.

   News also carried the suggestion that the virus had been stolen from Canada… Again, if true, this should be further investigated, and steps should be taken to secure dangerous (and potentially deadly) pathogens.

   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/did-china-steal-coronavirus-canada-and-weaponize-it

   We are monitoring the news carefully across many sources, picking up a few last minute pantry items today, and making plans to ride this out from a remote and rural location with little contact (as close to none as possible). We’ll handle any potential interactions or contact with great caution.

   We pray all of this resolves quickly and there is no further suffering or loss of life. The better plans seems to be extra caution while this sorts out, and then to breathe a sigh of relief if the extra efforts turn out to have been unnecessary.

   Stay well. Be safe everyone.

7. Get Pool Shock. https://www.amazon.com/HTH-52004-Shock-Trtmt-Single/dp/B01JLY4G6O/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1WROJYTUH5DZB&keywords=pool+shock+1+lb&qid=1580152448&sprefix=pool+shock%2Caps%2C328&sr=8-5

   One table spoon in one gallon, then dilute with 9 parts water to 1 part pool shock. This will make a higher concentration of Calcium Hypochlorite, than should be use for the purposes of sanitizing drinking water, and a stronger than 10% solution need to disinfect surfaces, yet it is convenient and useful metrics. I would not use Calcium Hyprochlorite in any solution for drinking water. One gallon of this solution is stronger than household bleach, yet will be further diluted by 9 to 1. Better a bit too strong than not strong enough. Wear protective clothing during the process.

   Once the original packaging is open, it should ideally be stored in glass with a glass lid with a rubber gasket. This is a highly corrosive chemical, and will eat through, or rapidly oxidize the best metals. Condensation in the container aids in this process. If the powered concentrate is exposed to a small amount of water, that mixture could explode. Do not mix with other chemicals, especially acids, or ammonia. Exciting reactions, and poisonous gases are created. Optional method of storage might heavy plastic container that is water tight, and should be stored outside and away from metal tools and buildings. Wood will not be significantly impacted. As with any highly concentrated chemical, when mixing a reagent, pour the higher concentration into a lower concentration. In other words, pour the power incrementally into a large amount of water, and not the other way around. This is Chem 101 stuff, but it not discussed.

   A garden sprayer might be used to decontaminate interiors. If some one is sick, put them a room that is well ventilated to outside air, and is sealed off from the rest of the house. A small electric fan and two slight open window would great reduce the risk to the designated care giver (one individual). Plastic sheeting and duct tape works. Of course they will require care, and should not be totally isolated. Give them a radio, or other method of contacting you. A 10% solution of bleach water in a bucket just outside the door of the room can be used to decontaminate all items, including small articles of clothing and bedding leaving the room. Sheets and blankets, large items can be put in trash bag and processed outside. There is more, but this is how I would generally proceed. The designated caregiver should wear a full face respirator, or military gas mask with a filter that is not expired and capable of filter biologicals. Their clothing should changed as well out side the door of the sick room and placed into a trash bag and taken outside to be disinfected. Ideally the caregiver should change clothes in a room adjacent to the sick room and set a work station that is separate from the house. Ideally the caregiver should also live separately from the rest of the family. Tough stuff, but necessary should this prove to be a very deadly virus.

   I would rather go to what most would consider extremes and be safe, rather than infect loved ones. We simply do not know what we are dealing with at this time.

   1. Part 2

      The fan in the patient’s room needs to powerful enough to draw clean and warm air from the house into the patient’s room and exhaust to the outside of the patient’s room. We should be able to stand outside in front of the ‘sickroom’, or ideally the sickroom and room that houses the caregiver’s work station, wet a finger, and feel the direction of air flow. Lab’s use this method of ventilation. It is an important layer of protection, worth the effort. Box fans, or any number of fans should be used to create this necessary air flow that will help to protect the entire house, and the individuals in it. It is simple and easy to do. A fan, or fans in rooms on the opposite of the house that blow inward, or to the interior can assist and ensure that there is no stagnate air in the house. Regular, or routine washing of all surfaces that are touched frequently throughout the house, should be wiped down with the same 10 percent bleach/water solution.

      1. I would designate a sick room that has a fireplace or woodstove. If kept burning, that would accomplish creating negative pressure in the room and sterilizing the exhausted air.

         1. Great idea. Yes, it should be designated ahead of time, so that if someone is asked to leave their bedroom, there is no insult. Even if a wood stove had to be installed. I have several old stoves to spare. It does not have to be a permanent installation, pipe can be put through an open window in a pinch. No electricity is needed to run fans, and creates the negative pressure, and heats the cold winter air that might come from the house, or a window that is open in the sick room. Patient would welcome it as well.

8. On coronavirus, here’s a contrarian view that won’t be well accepted but is something to think about.

   If/when it gets to epidemic stage in the US, we’ll at least be able to get some good honest data about it, especially the death rate and what kinds of patients it kills. If it turns out to be a low death rate, and mostly geriatrics who are already compromised by another illness or disease, then it could actually be a good thing to catch this virus. If you recall back to your high school biology class, Edward Jenner discovered the whole vaccination process when he noticed that milkmaids who had recovered from cowpox didn’t fall ill when exposed to smallpox. Because the two organisms were closely related, the immunity to cowpox was enough to cover smallpox as well. Personally, I’d prefer to be immune to this organism than to be waiting around for some government to turn a mutated variant into a bio-weapon to be used in the future. If this turns out to have a low death rate of say 3-5% when it hits the US (based on good American data), and kills mostly compromised geriatrics, based on what I know about my own immune system and personal history, I don’t plan on taking any precautions.

   1. Hope you don’t have children or grandchildren.

9. Loved the play on words from You Don’t Mess with the Zohan you did there!

   1. You are the first to see it and/or mention it! 😉

      Jim was wondering if anyone would pick up on it? He had to explain it to me. I am not a movie watcher. 🙂

      Blessings,

      Lily

10. Unfortunately, we don’t have very much trustworthy information about the Wuhan, China, Coronavirus (flu) just yet.

    We in the USA, will NOT know ALL the dangers posed by this particular flu virus, until American Doctors can get sufficient hands-on experience, with the virus and its victims.
    Communist China could be called Fake News = 24/7. Communism produces fraudulent liars [everywhere].

    The US Government, Center for Disease Control, has a site about this type of Coronavirus flu, at ~cdc(dot)gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary~
    The US Government page and ~~>Survivalblogs’ page ~Protecting Your Family From an Influenza Pandemic~ … should be the first go to pages.
    *********************
    *********************
    This seems to be a >Virus; Not a Bacteria. … Take precautions; use appropriate information. … There is plenty of trustworthy suggestions given on credible sites.

    +There is information on the Internet, that Wuhan China is the site for a Biological >Weapons site. … We don’t know all the characteristics, and the possible extent of the dangers yet. … Ordinary flu is always dangerous to the old, the ~>young and the sick. [JWR has good ideas about improving overall health for everyone.]

    Read Survivalblogs’ page ~~Protecting Your Family From an Influenza Pandemic~~ several times to understand flu viruses. [A biological weapon would create enhanced dangers; American Doctors whould be a trustworthy source of information about this possibility.]

    Stay Tuned to SurvivalBlog for further information.

11. What a FARCE!,in a couple days you are going to realize this and Kobe was used to distract you and Nancy Pelosi is in the White House,all election rules are changed and your redoubt is being seized from you terrorists. The Impeachment was almost totally blacked out(sound familiar?) and the Neocons and rinos are going to be able to destroy the nation while you are all distracted by a joke.

    WAKE UP WE HAVE REAL THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF(SAVE OUR COUNTRY)

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