It is time to be realistic. For better or for worse COVID-19, the latest disease to strike the world, has generated near-mass panic and fear in people globally.
Even though there are still no confirmed cases of the virus within our country, there is still an impact being felt. With the ban on entry into the country of people who have been in China, tourist numbers have been adversely affected and there have been job losses. Universities are standing down staff as overseas students cannot enter the country.
Then there is the manufacturing side of things. A lot of our goods are imported, and many of them come from China. I made a routine visit to the Asian Supermarket this morning and noticed their stock was reduced by around a quarter (they usually have well-stocked shelves). I then realised that, of course, there is no product arriving to replenish their sales.
Whether we agree with it or not, the possibility of being forced into lock-down is a very real possibility if the virus reaches our community. So should we be taking precautions to be prepared for such an emergency?
Son and I have been discussing this and believe it would be prudent to make sure we at least have basic foodstuffs to see the three of us through several days.
We already have a good supply of canned food as New Zealand is prone to earthquakes and is home to twelve active volcanoes, meaning we need to be good citizens and BE PREPARED for any emergency that may occur.
For years now, I have labelled my cans with the month of purchase. This enables rotation so that we don’t end up with a very old unusable can of food. We only ever stock food that we normally use (even if it is not used that frequently, like evaporated milk), so rotation works well.
We try to have extra dry goods on hand as well, but our supply has dwindled. This afternoon I am going to the supermarket specifically to restock this supply – I need rolled oats, Weetbix, rice, milk powder and salt. We still have spare stores of flour, noodles and sugar, so they are not needed.
My list also has soap and disinfectant on it, both essential items for cleanliness and killing germs. We always keep an unopened bottle of bleach in the laundry for use in disinfecting water if needed, and have means on hand for boiling water or cooking food in the event of a natural disaster.
I feel we are reasonably prepared, without becoming fanatical about it.
Hopefully there will be no forced quarantines, no community lock-downs, no panic buying at supermarkets, but it is probably prudent to be prepared.
Margaret.
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