Downside: Panic - Upside: Everyone's Personal Hygiene Will Improve

Well, extracurricular activities at school including volleyball and forensics are now cancelled die to Corona-panic.

Lots of other gatherings are cancelled as well.

People are going on big time panic-buying sprees which is not a good thing at all.

Lots of disruptions are occurring due to this current panic.

Kids are all off school tomorrow as teachers have a conference to decide on remote teaching.

The Federal District Courthouse just passed a local rule barring anyone who in the last 14 days has traveled to China, South Korea, Italy or Iran or has been in contact with someone who has, and anyone with flu-like symptoms from entering, which will cause lots of hearing rescheduling I expect. Not to mention 14 days would be cutting it a tad close given the estimate incubation period is, yep, 14 days. I would have thought they woukd have done 20 days for a safety buffer.

Our local state district court is now requiring hands to be sanitized before going through building security. This is not a bad idea.

I expect that the sickness rate from all communicable diseases and dirt-related sources will likely drop due to people practicing better hygiene. So there's that, which is nice.

Well, That Explains This Morning's Panic Buyers

The Detroit News: Michigan coronavirus cases confirmed in Oakland, Wayne counties

The only upside is I've noticed people being a lot more attentive to their hygiene and washing their hands more often, which is a welcome development and hopefully will become a long-term habit for people even after the panic subsides.

Costco Covid Report - TP Panic Persists

So this morning I stopped by Costco for gas and some staples.

It was about the busiest I've seen it at 10 am when they open - very long lines.

A lot of people buying a lot of bottled water and large quantities of stuff.

Worryingly, there was no rice to be found at all, which was darn strange.

Other staples were there and in plenty except for one basic item:

Yes toilet paper is still out of stock and the shelves are bare.

Methinks the TP hoarders are getting this particular disaster preparation wrong, and like tulip bulb buyers are fixedly going after the wrong item.

After all, its really the wrong item to lose your S#!t over. If you catch Covid19, the virus may just make you feel like S#!t, but it doesn't make you explosively have to S#!t.

Settle down people, this is not worth panicking over.

Just A Bit Of Panic Buying Going On

Went to Costco today for some normal shopping.

Both bottled water and toilet paper were notably absent which was pretty darn abnormal.

The last time the water was gone from Costco was back in 2017 when the water system was down for the area due to a major main breakage.

Not sure the fixation is on stocking up on toilet paper. I would have expected a run on french toast making supplies and cold/flu medications.

The problem of course is if everyone starts panicking bad things will happen which will cause more panic and become a rather unfortunate feedback loop that we don't really need.

While Michigan allegedly still has no confirmed cases of Covid19 infected persons, it's likely just a matter of time until that changes. This is especially so as they've made Detroit Airport a location for enhanced screening of passengers from China. Given government's efficiency so far in testing and the just about absolute likelihood of their releasing infected people by mistake, this is not a matter of if but when. Since people are already panic buying toilet paper and water now, I'd hate to see how they react when a confirmed case gets announced here.