Crystal ball - will coronavirus effect our travel (public and private)?

[whole diary]

[onthecushions]

....and let's remember that most deaths are occurring in countries with far less comprehensive health systems than our own.  When the NHS wants to it can be fearsomely efficient, more so than in other advanced countries, probably a legacy of wartime control.

So cheer up!

OTC

PS asked today in Boots for face masks - "never sold 'em" was the reply. Have to use my welding masks instead.

[Marlburian]

... PS asked today in Boots for face masks - "never sold 'em" was the reply. Have to use my welding masks instead.

On Thursday Waitrose had sold out of small bottles of hand gel, so I bought a large one for refills.  (And with some small bottles getting the last dollops out requires a certain amount of shaking and squeezing; usually I end up undoing the cap and tipping some out.)

[TonyK]

I was on a rammed train yesterday morning, stood in the vestibule with 9 others, between Pinhoe and Exeter Central. Something tickled my nose and I sneezed. A woman stood nearby suggested I got tested for coronavirus, suggesting I head straight for A&E!

When I did that on a rammed single car from Gloucester during one of the previous scares (avian, IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly)), I found myself upgraded from a seat around the table, begrudgingly vacated by a bag, to half a carriage.

As someone with a pre-existing respiratory thing, and recently departed Chinese house guests, I shall carry on as normal for now. I brought a packet face masks home from Japan last year, as a never-executed joke. They might come in handy.

[broadgage]

It is being widely reported that hand sanitiser is in short supply.
A suitable alternative is a mixture of about 70% isopropyl alcohol and about 30% water.
This is readily available on fleabay and is inexpensive in bulk.
The pure alcohol is very flammable, and the 70% mixture is somewhat flammable.

[stuving]

It is being widely reported that hand sanitiser is in short supply.
A suitable alternative is a mixture of about 70% isopropyl alcohol and about 30% water.
This is readily available on fleabay and is inexpensive in bulk.
The pure alcohol is very flammable, and the 70% mixture is somewhat flammable.

Certainly our local Tesco had none this morning, and I heard two people inquiring of staff if there was any. And the last few dispensers on the empty shelf were being grabbed, though those seemed to be some antibacterial hand wash - useless against a virus, of course, except as an encouragement to wash one's hands at all.

[ray951]

Of course if 20% of drivers, signallers, etc. are 'off-sick' then a lot of services won't run.

A fifth of workers could be off sick at peak of virus, according the government https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51718917

[TonyK]

Certainly our local Tesco had none this morning, and I heard two people inquiring of staff if there was any. And the last few dispensers on the empty shelf were being grabbed, though those seemed to be some antibacterial hand wash - useless against a virus, of course, except as an encouragement to wash one's hands at all.

Every cloud has a silvery lining, and this is a marvellous opportunity for shops to clear the shelves of the expensive branded hand cleansers, the ones with nice bottles containing that rare and highly expensive ingredient "Aqua".

[Marlburian]

For some years I've carried and used hand gels, ever conscious of the lack of hygiene of many public-transport users and for use on my countryside walks and tasks. I have dry eyes that sometimes need the application of ointment and/or artificial tears, so clean fingers are important.

A friend is an agent for a range of aloe vera products, some of which I reluctantly buy. Checking my stock of hand gels, I found that all were merely "antibac" except the sample bottle she'd given me just before Christmas. Just tried to order some more, but they've sold out.

I went on to eBay and found that the cheapest bottles still listed would come from China, of all places. One British-based spiv had set up a new trading name offering for £100 a bottle that would normally cost £4-5.

[Western Pathfinder]

Best answer to limited availability of effective hand cleanser would be a small refillable bottle of alcohol based sprit ,Vodka anyone?...

[Timmer]

Don't ask me what the connection is but people in Australia are panic buying toilet paper 

[broadgage]

Don't ask me what the connection is but people in Australia are panic buying toilet paper 

Sensible in my view, toilet paper shortages are entirely possible due to sickness in the supply chain. Food and water are higher priorities, but toilet paper is also important.
I buy it in bulk, and order more when existing stocks are down to less than 100 rolls.
My present stock is about 200 rolls. No panic here.

[Celestial]

Sensible in my view, toilet paper shortages are entirely possible due to sickness in the supply chain. Food and water are higher priorities, but toilet paper is also important.
I buy it in bulk, and order more when existing stocks are down to less than 100 rolls.
My present stock is about 200 rolls. No panic here.

So you keep several jerry cans of fuel in the event of a sudden fuel crisis, and a store of 100+ loo rolls, and heaven knows what else.  I have to ask, are you disappointed each day when the apocalypse doesn't arrive and you can smugly be the only person that has prepared for it?

[SandTEngineer]

Best answer to limited availability of effective hand cleanser would be a small refillable bottle of alcohol based sprit ,Vodka anyone?...

I much prefer a large Gin and Tonic......

[charles_uk]

Italians are being advised to stand one metre away from each other in all public spaces. I wonder how that'd work on short-formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train)!

[Timmer]

It would be easy to mock Broadgage for his preparedness in the event of a major event, but we have seen how quickly shelves clear when fear and panic spreads.

That is quite a lot of toilet rolls to have in stock I must say but fair play to you.