Forums » Smalltalk » Coronavirus

Hi
I live in the bay area of California, where we have around 300 confirmed cases and a few deaths so far. San Francisco is essentially in panic mode, with the store I work at being cleared out of TP, paper towels, every disinfectant, hand soap and now dish soap today. It's chaos and I am one of the unfortunate people that cannot work from home. Neither do I have appropriate sick time saved up to take more than.. three or four days off in a row.

Thus far, school districts are closed, colleges are moving to online courses. I've been mindful to wash my hands frequently at work but people will still stand within three feet of me when asking me questions and I hate it. I wish I could wear a button that says 'keep 6ft away from me please.' but that isnt allowed.

So yeah, this is a pain but I can only just keep chugging along.

I feel you on that.
I work in retail at one of my jobs and it’s killer.
People are hateful and panicked.

Yeah, it's crazy. Some of my fellow dudes are actually washing their hands. Before it was 'eh' and they called me paranoid but now people are actually taking hygiene seriously. It's about time people stop being nasty. It's pathetic it takes a crisis to get people to wash their damn hands!
Hopefully after all this blows over, people will continue good habits. U_U"

I’m from northern lower Michigan, USA and work at our local Walmart and you’d think they were filming a post apocalyptical movie or you were part of a fall out game with how empty some of our shelves are. We can’t even stock the shelves people are grabbing right off of our carts. Some parts of our back rooms are empty and the saddest part is that those you aren’t going crazy and just need their essentials can’t get them because of the crazy panic shoppers who buy everything within ten minutes of us putting it on the shelves if it even makes it that far. I’m glade I start my week vacation after tonight’s shift because this is just getting stupid and crazy out there. The sad thing is it gets so cold this time of the year in my area that not virus of germ can last long and with the onslaught of bulk buy every one is doing those of us who are just trying to live have to spend an arm and a leg just to get the crumbs they leave behind.

I'm in Oregon, pretty far from where most of the cases in Washington have turned up, but still around the the area most in my state have turned up, going by when I last checked. Grocery stores are definitely looking a bit different from the norm, but still keeping most stuff stocked. Events of 250+ have been canceled or delayed for 4 weeks, school canceled for 2 weeks, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) has closed down for now. I indirectly work for an airline, and they're canceling all weekday red-eye flights for April, which is shaving a good few hours off schedules for me and my coworkers (fortunately for me, I do most of my work weekends, so should be less affected). Public transit is trying to keep running as usual but encouraging people to spread out more.

I have been seeing efforts to at least help with the school thing. I've been seeing advice and schedule suggestions for managing kids out of school, to better keep them occupied and engaged until schools open again. I've also been seeing various companies and organizations stepping in to help feed kids, especially those from impoverished families. I've been seeing this from school systems, charities, and even some food businesses. If you have kids, l encourage you to look up if anywhere in your area is doing such. I can try to find the scheduling stuff again to share if anyone needs it.

At our local Wal-Mart the shelves are completely empty. All large gatherings have been canceled. Schools have been closed. It's been crazy at the grocery store all the canned goods have bought out.

Update: West of Seattle ALL the stores are sold out of Toilet Paper, wipes and hand sanitizer. the shelves are empty of most soaps... and its a 30% chance you'll find paper towels unless you got to places like Lowes where people don't think to buy it.

Dry goods like beans, rice, ramen... sold out. bread is nearly sold out.. some places more foods were sold out then others.. and places like the Navy Base Commissary issued a limit on how much of each thing you can purchase.

I had to double my grocery order today and ran around to a handful of places to find things were just chaotic and bare..

Sooo I personally have a TP shortage.. so i looked on amazon to order.. nbope sold out ot 72$ for 4 rolls? No way. Who knew TP would be the new gold nad paper towels the new silver.

anyways I stocked up on what i need for the next two weeks for me and the pets. but I am crossing my fingers to hope this blows over enough that I can get things i actually need that people are hoarding.

Side note: I recently saw toilet paper at a Dollar Tree. If you're out, might be worth checking. There and other odd places that tend to sell a little of everything.

Speaking of a dollar store...(as we have $1 Tree & Dollar General)

The DG store (last we knew) had some TP, but the thing is you were limited to one pk per customer. I mean it's good to do that, since people suddenly buy like a years worth of TP and mess it up for others.

We went to Ingles today and the only thing we couldn't get atm, is ground beef. Other wise it didn't seem too bad. Then again I didn't glance down the paper isle or anything like that. We got the food and such we needed. We did a lighter than usual run, because papa (nickname for my grandpa) doesn't know if he's going to have work or not this coming week. For now his group is still working until the businesses similar to his start to close down.

Friendly reminder Amazon itself is out of toilet paper.
Check it out

Texas native and tired college student with younger siblings in middle and high school here! I swear, this is crazy!

My mom said there were lines of people going to the back of our local HEB today and yesterday (she read it from someone posting about it)

My younger siblings and I have an extra week of break (from then on, my classes will be online for the rest of the semester, but my younger siblings still gotta go to school I believe. But, I think their STAAR tests are cancelled, or the schools are at least discussing it)

But yeah, I think I might go a bit stir crazy eventually, and that's coming from a socially awkward introvert who doesn't really go out much anyways!

Update : me and my dad just left a local grocery store and there was literally almost nothing left ... I understand that some people are in risk of dieing thanks to this outbreak but that's for people who are really old and that have weak immune systems ... Welcome to the Corona Apocalypse folks and please stop panic shopping if you don't need too folks

^^^^

ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE PANIC BUYING DISINFECTANTS! Folx with poor immune systems and specialized equipment /need/ that to survive on days when there isn't a pandemic. A lot of times what the rest of need is just a container or two of good wipes and a good bottle of sanitizer. If you're buying in massive bulk and don't need it, you're putting someone at risk! Please be considerate and only buy what you're going to need - the CDC (iirc) suggests preparing for 30 days out in case you are in-home quarantined. Please don't buy 40 gallons of germ-x if you don't need it!

And if you're using this to buy things cheap and sell it online, you're preying on the fact a lot of people might die if they don't the things you're selling. It's predatory and violent.


ETA: because I remember some folx look at disabled and chronically ill people like they're only supposed to be out between the hours of 3-5 PM monday through friday- That's not how life works. People with immunodeficiencies and specialized equipment still have jobs and social responsibilities, as do their care takers. Until the day we're all stuck in home with no other choice, ALL of us are going to be pressed to go outside and interact with someone at some point just because that's how life is. You can cancel all the 6 year old niece birthday parties and all the Disney trips you want, you're going to need to go to the store, some of you are going to need to go to work, and some of you are going to need to see family because that's how life is. Be considerate, be mindful, and don't use this as a chance to make a few bucks off of someone else's life or death situation.

I went to Wal-mart for the first time since this really started up and it was surreal. We actually have limits now on how much you can buy of certain products like toilet paper and milk.

The US of A is close to being locked down. But honestly, nothing too serious has happened.
Buuuut... And don't take this the wrong way, I kinda find this exciting. I have a really morbid sense of adventure and despite this being scary, I've never lived through a viral outbreak this large, so I'm kinda pumped up! Yeah, it's... It's worse than it sounds I know. I'm not crazy I swear, just a bit messed up in the head.

I honestly have no tips on how to get through this but, I mean... Just stay healthy?

So... I work at an airport. Specifically, I'm a janitor in an airline club. And between canceled events, travel bans, and general fear, airlines have been taking a huge hit, especially the clubs. Usually things start picking up around now or in the very near future, but I heard a claim the one I work for has had a 75% drop in patronage (don't know the accuracy or how it was measured).

Saturday, I found out that a half hour had been shaved off the end of my shift. Yesterday, another half hour from the start. The overnight folks, already having an hour shorter shift despite being the hardest to get done, had another hour shaved off theirs. The bartenders have lost probably a third of their hours. And all of this before the club starts closing 4-5 hours earlier in April (bunch of flights have been canceled).

Washington state closed bars and restaurants outside of takeout. Oregon is considering following suit, but for some reason also considering a curfew - which would force everyone to get stuff done in a narrower timeframe (promoting crowding) and seems likely to screw over evening/night workers (including, y'know, those trying to sanitize everything in off hours). Probably mess with me extra, being reliant on public transit, because why would it run past curfew? No idea what our massive homeless population is supposed to do with a curfew, either.

A convention I have plans to go work in May is now considering canceling. That convention is supposed to help me offset the cost plane tickets and time off work to go visit a friend I haven't gotten to see in like 2 or 3 years. I can't cancel the plane tickets and they can ONLY be rescheduled if the airline cancels the flight.

There are other rumors, too, of things that could put me out of work. I'd consider it unlikely, but crazy as things have gotten, I don't know.

Quietly seething rage aside (I'm realizing that I really don't like unexpected changes, plus i get protective of some of my coworkers) I still have productive information to share. For those in the US (I don't know how it works in other places), remember your unemployment office, be be aware that at least some states (I hope all?) also offer assistance for underemployment. If your job could be at risk, I encourage you to look up your local standards and process. I also encourage you to apply as soon as you think you might be eligible (unless you can confidently rely on other income sources), because it's going to be taking a hit this year and their budget might run out (but here's to hoping they can get an emergency booster budget if that happens).

Here in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, most school districts are closed for an extra 2 weeks after Spring Break, but Dallas ISD just announced schools are closed "indefinitely." Some charter schools, including the one my spouse works at, haven't made such an announcement yet, but they'll probably do at least the two week closure.

Restaurants close for dining in at midnight tonight. Bars as well.

To everyone: *Virtual hugs*

It will take a while, and I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime of 40 years, but, eventually everything will calm down, hopefully within 2 weeks. I think it's a great idea Zelphyr mentioned about checking whether your area offers unemployment benefits for underemployment, maybe this situation would qualify people who are out of work for something. I know a LOT of people who's income will be affected, especially servers. *Hugs*

In San Francisco, we were just given orders by officials to shelter in place for about three weeks. All the details and what it means can be read at this article here if anyone's interested in reading more specifics.

As a journalist and a news broadcaster, I'm considered an essential employee...I can't do all my work from home, so I was just emailed three different letters that I'm supposed to show law enforcement if I do happen to get pulled over or stopped and questioned about where I'm going and what I'm doing.

There's a lot of uncertainty and that makes a lot of people nervous. I just hope people keep remember being kind to one another during these highly stressful times.

As of Sunday 6pm, schools, bars/restaurants, gyms, basically all social gatherings have been cancelled or closed until April 6th at least. My classes have moved online and I'm only leaving the house for groceries and such.

As my roommate and I are both diabetic and they also have pretty severe asthma, I'm kind of worried about getting infected and what that means for us.