The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we are linking to a plethora of Wuhan Coronavirus news.

South Korea’s Hospital Bed Shortage

The Reuters news service reports , with a possible preview of some American news headlines, once Mr. Wuhan arrives and transitions into full community transmission: Thousands wait for hospital beds in South Korea as coronavirus cases surge

Macron Orders Seizure of Face Masks

Reader DSV forwarded this from the Reuters news wire: France reports fourth coronavirus death, requisitions masks. JWR’s Comment: So is is it supposed to sound nice and “legal”, when they call seizing private property “requisitioning”?  Note to Monsieur Petit Tyran Macron: Your truncheon is showing!

Army Doubles Purchase of Sniper Rifle 

From Zero Hedge: Army Doubles Purchase of New Sniper Rifle. A snippet:

“The Tennessee-made PSR, which is produced by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, is a bolt-action Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) system and called the Mk 22, which will be chambered in 7.62×51 mm NATO round. The PSR is the next generation of sniper rifles, and it’s lightweight, more accurate, and more reliable than legacy systems. “

Native Bees are Reliable Pollinators

C.B. sent this: Flower faithful native bee makes a reliable pollinator

100,000 Global Coronavirus Cases

Global coronavirus cases climb past 100,000JWR’s Comments:  Yikes! The latest count is 100,330 cases and 3,804 deaths — a 3.8% mortality rate. That is even worse than was calculated for the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic. The death rate is only 0.7% in South Korea, but 3.9% in Italy. And even more troubling is this: That of the 39 cases at the western Washington rest home, 10 people died. (Almost 25% mortality!)  I’ve concluded that there will be a pressing need for anyone over age 60 or who is immuno-compromised to self-isolate, once the virus is reported spreading in your county. Get ready, folks!

EPA Releases Antimicrobials List for Coronavirus

An EPA press release:  EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products for Use Against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the Cause of COVID-19. (Thanks to M.B. for the ink.)

Two Strains of Coronavirus and New Methods of Transmission

Andre sent us this: Coronavirus: there are 2 types, Chinese researchers find, while authorities say faeces and urine can transmit the infection. Here is a quote:

“A group of Chinese scientists analysed 103 coronavirus genomes and identified mutations in 149 sites across the strains.

They found that one type, which they called the L type, was more prevalent than the other, the S type, meaning it was more infectious. They also found that the L type had evolved from the S type, and that the L type was far more widespread before January 7 and in Wuhan, ground zero of the outbreak.

Human actions soon after the outbreak was discovered in December may have changed the abundance of each type, the report said, citing the Chinese central and local governments’ drastic containment measures including lockdowns of cities, which it said may have curbed the spread of the L type.”

Coronavirus is Sparing Children

My #1 Son forwarded this news, reported by NBC: ‘We simply do not understand why’: Coronavirus is sparing children, puzzling experts

Southwest Airlines CEO: Drop-off in Domestic Travel

Southwest Airlines CEO warns drop-off in domestic travel over coronavirus has ‘9/11-like feel’. Here is a quote:

“Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told CNBC on Thursday that the company has lost several hundred million dollars in a week’s time thanks to a decline in bookings amid increasing fears over COVID-19. Kelly added that the drop-off was “noticeable” and “precipitous” and has continued declining on a daily basis.

When prompted by CNBC’s Phil LeBeau over whether the drop was reminiscent of former dips in demand spurred by the 2003 SARS outbreak or the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Kelly said the new coronavirus outbreak was more like the latter.

‘It has a 9/11-like feel,’ Kelly said.”

Licensed Security Guard Arrested for “Hollowpoint” Ammo

DSV. sent us this news from the Totalitarian Alternate Universe of Neu Jersey, USA: New Jersey: Carry-Licensed Security Guard Arrested for So-Called “Hollowpoint” Ammo

A JWR Podcast Interview

Oikos Catholic Podcast Interview:  James Wesley, Rawles on Survivalism

You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) Thanks!




48 Comments

  1. re:hollowpoint
    Just an observation.
    The term race card and race baiting gets used a lot.
    His white lawyer is quoted as mentioning 3 white officers vs. black law abiding citizen.
    Guess it works both ways in the media.
    Everyone hates lawyers till they need one.

  2. I seriously doubt the 3.8% mortality rate. Due to the fact that most cases of Covid 19 go unreported due to lack of testing and underreported (lying China). I suspect it’s more like 1%.

    1. TexasScout,

      That underreporting goes both ways (especially in China), for deaths and mild cases. Also everybody needs to remember that probably around 50% of reported cases are still sick. Recovery is still up in the air. I believe the CFR will settle somewhere around 2.5%, which is still higher than the Spanish Flu of 1918, and 20 times higher than seasonal flu.

      Kid’s infection rate is starting to pick up, was approx. 3%, now it’s at 13%.

      JG,

      My personal opinion of hospitals being over run if we continue to double our cases every couple of days will be much sooner than mid to late May. Having been a critical care nurse for 30 years now, there are several reasons I can personally give my take on why:
      1. As cases come in, healthcare workers will become infected, be it mild or severe they will be asked to quarantine…then you are dealing with a shortage in staff (we already have this all the time, can’t tell you how many times I’ve been bribed with time and a half pay, plus cash bonuses to work extra).
      2. We will quickly run out of all supplies, not just PPE’s, equipment (especially vents) and meds, probably including IV fluids.
      3. Even in the beginning many healthcare workers and many ancillary staff (ancillary staff is just as important in running a hospital as direct care givers) will not come in due to fear, for their families and themselves.
      4. Once direct health care givers do not have PPE’s they will also go home. Most people have families and in the end they will usually come first.

      I would also go home, please don’t judge me by this, I have taken care of hundreds of infectious patients over the years with serious life threatening diseases. I have paid my dues. My kids and grandkids do come first.

      1. TXNurse,

        Anyone with a “lick of sense” would not judge you harshly for putting your family above work. In my humble opinion, as a nod to LTC David Grossman, it is the sheep in the population who expect “the authorities” to do whatever is necessary to make their lives free of risk, wont, and discomfort. If the sheepdog suffers in his fight against the wolves, well, that is the sheepdog’s job in the opinion of the sheep.

        If you pay the ultimate price in the coming pandemic, you will be lucky to get mentioned later on a small brass plaque at your hospital.

        Look at how many people say, “Thank you for your service,” to veterans today. Frankly, it annoys me. I am always tempted to say, “What did you ever do for your country?”

        I also wonder just how many contribute to an organization like Wounded Warriors, Tunnel2Towers, Disabled Amvets, etc., in order to make up in some small way the fact that they stayed comfortably at home, eating pizza, going to the mall, and hanging out with their friends while others answered the call.

        Do what you can to help people but draw a line beyond which you do not go. You have people who are far more important in your life than the stranger arriving in the ER who has been listening to coronavirus media coverage for as long as you have and who did absolutely nothing to prepare for it. Life’s about choices. Choices have consequences.

  3. The latest knowledgeable prediction I have found is the U.S. will have around a million corono cases by May. By early to mid May the hospitals will be full across the nation. The number of infected doubles every 5-6 days which will quickly overrrun our ability to cope. Self quarantine, prayer, prepare and help where you can. It’s going to be a rough ride.

  4. There’s already medical folks that think the government should “requisition” masks from regular folks here. Of course none are wanting come do it themselves because they know what will happen to thieves because as Uncle Ted says “ya can’t do this in France”.
    Fear is an evil driving tool that is way more dangerous than the virus.

    1. I noticed that most of the cleaners in the EPA document were Peroxide or Bleach based. Ecolab (one of companies listed on document provided) produces another product called ProForce that we bought at Sams Club a year or two ago that is meant for medical & non-medical use including hospitals/clinics and kills 99.9% of Germs including HIV. If they have it, I’m guessing that would be better than nothing. It’s made in the USA.

      ProForce’s active ingredients are Dimethyl ammonium chloride based (Octyl Decyl, Dioctyl, & Didecyl), & Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride based.

      I’m guessing that any medical approved bacteriacide/virucide/fungucide/disinfectant would prove very effective for hard floors, surfaces, etc. (Please read labels & use warnings of any product you intend to use).

      Stay vigilant!

  5. re:hollowpoint

    We do not live in Mayberry and never have. But thing have gone to the stage of Sierra Hotel Tango Foxtrot.

    Mayberry was a very nice place…

    1. Do the math on the cost of each unit.
      I`m not going to print it now, I`m embarrassed I did it wrong, simple as it is.
      Yeah, I guess they`re flush with money.
      Wonder what the civilian version of those rifles will cost?
      I`ll bet a lot less.
      Barrett has to be grinning ear to ear.
      Dan

        1. I have a Barrett MRAD in 300 Win Mag. With a Nightforce Beast optic and a Thunderbeast Ultra suppressor. Even with all that top of the line gear 546 of those rifles would be less than 2.5 million. Yet we taxpayers get to pay 10 million for just the rifles. When is enough enough?

          1. You need to read the whole contract. It will be published somewhere online. When DOD buys the rifles how does the military support them. It’s not unusual to buy spare parts on the weapon contract, and those could add up as DOD puts spare parts on empty shelves. The military will need operators manuals, repair manuals, and they will buy training on how to repair the rifles. I don’t know if the price is fair but I do know there is more to it than just purchasing the weapon.

  6. My thoughts on the virus so far…..

    Well, the virus looks to be real, targeted mainly at the old people, but I think it is being over dramatized on purpose.
    1. It’s to reduce the population of useless eaters. (older people)
    2. It’s being blamed for the financial collapse that’s happening.
    3 Although supposedly there is no vaccine produced I wouldn’t be surprised to see one magically appear and it become mandatory for everyone to take.
    4. It’s a good excuse to go cashless and all transactions become digital.
    5. When martial law is declared it will be the perfect time to round up and get rid of all dissidents.

    1. I agree. It’s a complete control thing. The disease, the identification, the TEST, and some say a vaccine is almost ready. One or two companies supposedly sent one in for review and human testing. It’s all about control and probably forcing the vaccine on all. What the virus doesn’t take care of maybe the vaccine will. The cash issue and dangers of it. To get us all cashless-track all purchases and where abouts. The whole thing is fishy and there have been quite a few articles on it. Dr Mercola (one of the natural health drs who’s articles are screened out by Google (unless his name is typed in search) had a good one today. We all need to pray and stay healthy.

  7. “I’ve concluded that there will be a pressing need for anyone over age 60 or who is immuno-compromised to self-isolate, once the virus is reported spreading in your county.” – James Wesley Rawles

    This old coot will be forwarding Mr. Rawles’ sound advice to my classmates.

  8. Attn: CuzMike –
    It’s not called ‘Martial Law’ anymore. Outdated term.
    It’s now ‘Shelter in Place’.
    Sounds nicer- less sinister.
    In Boston, after the Marathon Bombing, and the resulting manhunt
    for the Bomber, residents were ‘requested’ to Shelter in Place.
    Those that didn’t, and were caught on the street, were promptly
    arrested and taken into custody.

  9. Can someone provide me with information concerning PM2.5 filters? Here’s one offering on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Activated-Purifier-Replaceable-Compatible-Majority/dp/B084ZKQXZP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M3HJV6912YK8&dchild=1&keywords=n95+filters+replacement&qid=1583676477&sprefix=N95+filters%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1

    They are described as being N95 filter replacements, but since the manufacturer isn’t identified, I am a little leery. Do they, in fact, meet N95 standards?

    What specific face mask are these filters intended for?

    They are still generally available, so if they are the “real deal,” people might benefit from buying the reusable face masks and a reasonable supply of these filters.

    1. If there is no regulatory agency that states these are true N95 then they aren’t. If you can’t identify the manufacturer then none of the information that is provided can be verified. I guess it’s better to have something than nothing but I wouldn’t expect anything out of thoes filters.

    2. We’ve noticed a bunch of masks on amazon with the N-95 tag associated recently. Funny they were all sold out a few weeks back costing north of $50 a piece. Now these new batches are sold for $30 for a dozen and all have the N-95 tag on them.

      Umm.

    3. I placed an order over six weeks ago, and the delivery date keeps being push forward, they say now March 15th, and if not received by then the order could be cancel for a refund, I wonder if they were counting on a order that was never shipped.

  10. Here’s a link on why the coronavirus is probably sparing children. The NBC headline is misleading, it’s not quite as baffling as it seems. Basically, one of the CoV’s that causes the common cold, called CoV-OC43, is similar enough to Covid-19 that it provides some temporary immunity. Since kids get colds so frequently, they have lots of antibodies for CoV-OC43 in their systems even though it is a short-loved immunity. It appears to work well enough against Covid-19. In the link, scroll down to the graph. The yellow bar is the cold virus, the blue bar the Covid-19.

    http://virological.org/t/remarkable-age-distribution-of-oc43-vs-sars-cov-2-in-china/399

  11. Conspiracy dept. – The hotel that Seattle bought for quarantine is “rumored” to have been purchased much earlier, and that they really want to use it for homeless relocation, or for their “safe” heroin shooting galleries they keep wanting to establish in King County. Either way, it puts a bunch of dope addicts somewhere else, and the self-righteous libs in Seattle won’t have to look at them. (or smell them)

  12. This was published 5 hours ago on the Teller Report and this type of Triage may come to the USA due to a lack of appropriate medical facilities…

    Italian doctors’ associations recommend using an age limit for admitting patients in intensive care, Italian media report. Younger people should be given priority with this measure. The association considers this necessary “to reserve resources that can be very scarce for people who have a greater chance of survival and who can be saved for more years”. Italian hospitals can no longer handle the number of patients due to the high number of coronavirus infections.

  13. Wonder if they will close down all the Starbucks stores in Seattle? They did in China. Oh boy, that will be some kinda freak out if they can’t get their crack-in-cup!

    1. IrishEyes,

      Your link is an excellent article for everybody to print. Dr Gratton Woodson, published this around 2006. I printed this then and gave to all my family. This is a very easy to understand guide for basic home care of Influenza patients. I had forgotten about this guide, located some copies in my files, will print more and send out to family/friends again.
      I used to read a lot of his writings back then, he was very involved in Pandemic Planning.

      Thanks for the reminder!

  14. Two Strains of Coronavirus and New Methods of Transmission

    The source is not trustworthy. It should be considered disinformation until proven otherwise. The Chicoms will lie in many ways and at all opportunities, and not necessarily to save face. There is at this time, ample reason to believe it is man made. To start, do a search on 2019-nCov. Why not refer to the virus as all other viruses are referred to, by their scientific name? The WHO changed the name to obscure it’s origin. It worked nicely and still causes confusion. The WHO is not our friend. It is a Globlist tool as is the U. N. If uncertain, it is better to assume that we cannot know the origin, and put the effort into determining how it behaves in the wild.

  15. I know I keep repeating myself, but Hydrogen Peroxide! Many years ago, a stay-at-home-mom who was a Chemist, I think, by profession decided to do a controlled test on various “sanitizers” (things bored moms do… LOL). She published her results on Facebook (back when I actually used Fakebook). She took several petri dishes and I believe she used bleach, Lysol, hydrogen peroxide, and rubbing alcohol, or something like that. It’s been years, so my memory is hazy. You know all the cool cleaning products we learned to use that say “Kills 99% of germs” on the label? She looked at the bacteria under a microscope after 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, for each petri dish. In her tests, she found that after 5 minutes, hydrogen peroxide had eliminated the bacteria, and after 10 minutes, the other products seemed to work pretty good. I learned that a full 5 minutes is required to kill the germs and that hydrogen peroxide won in the tests. When I became immunocompromised from cancer, I began to rely on simple hydrogen peroxide. Which is why I’m repeating myself here, hoping someone new will see that using this simple and inexpensive product will go a long way. Many stores in the “hot spots” have run out of a lot of the usual products. The other day, I took a large package of baby wipes from Costco (because they are inexpensive and very strong), poured hydrogen peroxide into the package and let it sit. Voila, sanitizing wipes, just as an example. It just makes sense to me to pick up bottles of hydrogen peroxide wherever it can be found. Regulars, please forgive the repeat of information.

    1. I’ve read that peroxide and white vinegar kill many viruses and bacteria. They are not supposed to be stored mixed together ( 2 spray bottles) spray on a surface together and it apparently kills them. I do it all the time at home well before this problem. Another thing many don’t think of is coconut oil on the hands and skin. It is antiviral, antibiotic and anti fungal. It also helps skin to not become dry and creates a barrier. I’ve heard on the new aside from hand washing etc it’s important to make sure dry skin is kept moist to repair. The tiny cracks allow the skin to be violated thus germs may enter through dry skin. Everyone’s hands do seem drier between winter heat plus the almost constant washing.

    2. NO NO NO – Please don’t rely on this.
      Hydrogen peroxide will very quickly lose it’s effectiveness when poured into baby wipes – both because of the increase surface area and air interaction and potentially (likely) it will react with one of the many components of the baby wipes and become inactive quickly.
      I have experience testing antimicrobials and I highly recommend that you keep peroxide in an air tight container – such as the one it came in – and then either spray it as needed – thoroughly drenching the area, and leaving it wet for as long as it takes to evaporate.

  16. I have a Barrett MRAD in 300 Win Mag. With a Nightforce Beast optic and a Thunderbeast Ultra suppressor. Even with all that top of the line gear 546 of those rifles would be less than 2.5 million. Yet we taxpayers get to pay 10 million for just the rifle. When is enough enough?

  17. OK, PSA here folks. Just realized that the jug of Clorox I grabbed the other day is the “No Splash Formula” which isn’t really Clorox at all. It can’t be used to disinfect anything and is some sort of thicker(thus no-splash) whitener and brightner for your laundry I guess. Not being someone who ever has “whites” to launder I guess I was oblivious to this latest entrant to the cast of laundry characters. Found a basic bottle of bleach today to replace it with but thought I’d share this info in case I’m not the last person in the world to realize this stuff is out there, looks like regular Clorox but isn’t a disinfectant!

  18. FYI, a peek at our local shortages we’re seeing already in the local Wallyworld and Sam’s stores here in the Midwest. Bulk rice and beans, bulk TP, pretty much all hand sanitizer and clorox wipes. Noticeable shortage in Tylenol, ibruprofen, cold supplements, limits on bottled water. I fear when the Rx shortages start the older generations will really start to feel the pinch.

  19. With the L and S types, I heard it the other way around! The S type is the faster spreader, but the L type creates more of the serious problems. Some even have both strains at the same time!

    3 weeks ago, a whistleblower vid was taken down as I was watching. It had cases in China at 175,000 and 23,000 dead for a 13% death rate. If that’s true, China has well over a million cases now.

    Also, heard that in one case, a person was infected by their dog. The person and dog were both tested and came up positive. Dogs sniff everything! Fecal transmission is also possible, so that may be the way the dog was infected. So keep your dogs away from others!

  20. I read how Sars was cov 2 mers cov 4. So I wonder why this is 19. 2019 or were there more lesser cold viruses named between 2014 (Mers) and this. I also read that the test is the SARS Cov 2 test. So I am confused.

    1. Anonomous

      There are 7
      Known coronaviruses that infect people, 4 have been around for decades and cause about 15% of common cold viruses each year. Number 5 is SARS which was discover in 2002, number 6 is MERS which was discovered in 2014 and now number 7 is SARS nCOV – 2, which is the name of the virus, because it is very similar to the first SARS virus. They call the disease caused from SARS COV – 2
      COVID – 19, they are one and the same, but has caused some confusion. Hope that helps.

      SURVIVORMAN99,
      Thanks, nice post, I completely agree about choices!

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