I'm no fan of panic buying, but did of course buy a bit more extra supply than usual to minimize what could become rather hazardous excursions to the local supermarket, now mostly crowded out by many people in an "end-of-the world" mode. :hmm: . Let's keep things in perspective and stay calm.
Until about a week or ten days ago, local politicians in Switzerland, but also those in neighboring countries were still playing down the Wuhan-virus as "just another flu, what's all the fuss about?". Well, it's the sudden exponential rise in the number of cases and deaths, doubtlessly shown to the blissfully unaware (and overpaid) politicos by means of a simple Excel graph from health experts, that triggered a sudden awareness of the potential severity of the disease and how the health services would be totally submerged if people weren't obliged to stop mingling in crowded places.
As some of you may have meanwhile read, pretty well the whole of Europe is now in lock-down, with largely closed national borders and people being ordered to stay at home in certain countries, only allowed to go to work or to the supermarket. All non-essential shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. have been closed. Schools will be closed until the end of April.
The objective of such unprecedented measures is to slow the spread of the virus at all cost (the economic impact is truly frightening), and hopefully exiting this terrible pandemic in 6 to 8 weeks time, with the crest of the virus "wave" (it is like a tsunami of sorts) having passed though the population at large. Indeed, the number of cases should theoretically fall dramatically in roughly 2 months time, which should enable a return to a relative normality as seen in South Korea, where the crisis was well handled from the very beginning to minimize its impact. The ultimate hope is to have a vaccine before a potential second "wave" of the virus strikes again sometime in autumn, or early next year.
If I were living in the US, I would stock up on non-perishables such as rice, pasta, dried fruit, flour, but also vegetables such as potatoes. Lemons kept in the fridge keep for a long time: think vitamin C to strengthen the immune system. As our tap water is of a high standard i.e. no excessive chlorine content and other rubbish, I have not stocked up on drinking water. Oh, if toilet paper does run out in the stores, newspapers are a valid option. A loaded firearm is probably a good idea, depending on where you live: people behave strangely in times of collective panic, and some see nothing wrong in taking (stealing) what they need from others.
Here is what the Swiss federal government advises in terms of emergency supplies, if ever:
https://www.bwl.admin.ch/bwl/en/home/themen/notvorrat.html. Unfortunately, this Pdf-based information is not available in English language.
The more you stick to "social distancing" for the next 6-8 weeks, the safer you will be. We will all get through this.
