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[2015] - pandemic preparedness
It's IMO probably now worth thinking back to the stuff you really missed from March - June 2020 and considering ways of arranging it for yourself / household.
COVID is ongoing, yes. But the potential for bird flu in the coming years is somewhat concerning. At this point, there's time to act on both stuff like home improvements and on bigger things like moving home / changing career, as well as on littler things [like weighted blankets/lap pads].
Rambling
Occupation
Safest in a pandemic, from physical illness:
* office work that can be done from home, in a field that will probably keep operating
* making and selling tangible objects, where you can do the making from home [ie. almost the entirety of Etsy]
* working with a consistent team / not encountering other people randomly in person at work [eg. being a farmer]
* outdoor work
* driving alone
* being the person at home caring for young children / home educating older ones
* being a student on a course that can be taught online
Accommodation
* whereabouts do you want to be in the country - city/town/village/very rural + who / what do you want to be near? Can you move to improve this?
* do you have enough space for your household? Outdoor space [garden / allotment / parks [but probably restrictions on their use during worst bits of a pandemic] Think about working from home space / trying to separate working areas from relaxing ones / having a good set up of desk + chair for work.
Health
* being up to date with vaccinations
* good management of pre-existing health conditions
* stuff to help you look after yourself if you catch 'flu.
* telephone / online therapist/physio/OT etc
* monitoring equipment - blood pressure, SpO2, thermometer, peak flow meter etc
Touch/physical comfort - esp for people who don't live with people they're on cuddling terms with, but relevant to everyone as you might decide to isolate within your household
[none of this stuff is the same as seeing and touching other people, but it could be reasonable symptom relief]
* weighted blankets [different sizes/weights for different purposes - the one for use in bed might be too heavy for sitting on the sofa]
* heated blankets / pads
* learn about simple lymphatic drainage / other self-massage techniques / dry brushing
* soft clothes / blankets
* maybe compression clothing
* other stuff that feels good on your skin [cream? / shower gel? / exfoliating gloves? / sponges?]
* everyday items that feel good in your mouth / hands [cutlery / glasses / mugs, pens, notebooks]
* jewellery designed to be played with / chewed - fidget rings / spinners on necklaces
* bed linen that feels good to your skin
* maybe stuff that smells nice that reminds you of close people.
Predict and prepare for shortages
* Expect toilet rolls, pasta, cleaning supplies, PPE to be in short supply. You can stock up on all of these in advance. 2020 is still close - people will remember what there were shortages of last time and demand for these items will increase in anticipationof a shortage.
* Consider muslin / cut up old bits of fabric and a lidded bucket with disinfectant + water as a substitute for toilet roll for urine. [If things were really dire this would work for faeces / blood too, though I'd much rather start using fabric for urine earlier to save disposible toilet paper for faeces / blood] [and bear in mind that with some illnesses, the ill person may be advised to wash towels / clothes / bed linen at a high temperature / their bodily waste might be extra infectious, so limited toilet paper supplies might be most sensibly allocated to them]
* If bird 'flu, expect a serious egg shortage to last for ages. Experiment, whilst eggs are mostly available with egg substitutes in cakes / scrambled tofu etc.
PPE / cleaning - assume fomite transmission will be a problem in a way it isn't with COVID.
* FFP3 masks / respirators that fit everybody in the household. Lots of them.
* Work out where to quarantine post / deliveries / groceries
* Think about how to clean envelopes / boxes/ food containers
* Have enough emollient cream around that you can wash your hands lots without them becoming too dry/painful.
* Assume infection can enter through breaks in the skin, so try to avoid cuts - wear gloves for gardening, don't let your skin stay too dry. Cover cuts that happen with plasters / dressings.
Garden
* Consider the location of bird boxes / feeding tables in your garden - depending on which birds have it / how it's being spread [whether mostly bird to person or person to person] you might want to discourage birds from staying long in your garden by removing boxes / feeding tables. Alternatively you might want to add more to encourage birds to come in, to provide interesting stuff for you to look at out of the windows, especially if you're very stuck indoors.
* Consider whether keeping chickens to lay eggs is a good choice for you. [Might be, if you know you can keep your birds safe from infection. Probably won't be a good time to start doing this during a bird 'flu pandemic as there will be restrictions on moving animals / it'll be hard to tell if birds are infected or not. So if eggs are important enough to you to keep chickens, I'd start buying chickens sooner rather than later]
* Consider growing fruit / veg / herbs
* Consider an allotment for extra growing space [and good justification to leave your house]
* Consider allocating some space to outdoor exercise / for children to play. Outdoor exercise equipment is worth looking at.
* Consider shade for the summer / ways of warming the space in winter [to enable you to make good use of your garden space in different weathers, so you have more options than just indoords and also to have a safer space to invite guests to. Garden furniture that's comfortable to sit on is good.
[to be continued at some other point] - going to be edited a lot.
COVID is ongoing, yes. But the potential for bird flu in the coming years is somewhat concerning. At this point, there's time to act on both stuff like home improvements and on bigger things like moving home / changing career, as well as on littler things [like weighted blankets/lap pads].
Rambling
Occupation
Safest in a pandemic, from physical illness:
* office work that can be done from home, in a field that will probably keep operating
* making and selling tangible objects, where you can do the making from home [ie. almost the entirety of Etsy]
* working with a consistent team / not encountering other people randomly in person at work [eg. being a farmer]
* outdoor work
* driving alone
* being the person at home caring for young children / home educating older ones
* being a student on a course that can be taught online
Accommodation
* whereabouts do you want to be in the country - city/town/village/very rural + who / what do you want to be near? Can you move to improve this?
* do you have enough space for your household? Outdoor space [garden / allotment / parks [but probably restrictions on their use during worst bits of a pandemic] Think about working from home space / trying to separate working areas from relaxing ones / having a good set up of desk + chair for work.
Health
* being up to date with vaccinations
* good management of pre-existing health conditions
* stuff to help you look after yourself if you catch 'flu.
* telephone / online therapist/physio/OT etc
* monitoring equipment - blood pressure, SpO2, thermometer, peak flow meter etc
Touch/physical comfort - esp for people who don't live with people they're on cuddling terms with, but relevant to everyone as you might decide to isolate within your household
[none of this stuff is the same as seeing and touching other people, but it could be reasonable symptom relief]
* weighted blankets [different sizes/weights for different purposes - the one for use in bed might be too heavy for sitting on the sofa]
* heated blankets / pads
* learn about simple lymphatic drainage / other self-massage techniques / dry brushing
* soft clothes / blankets
* maybe compression clothing
* other stuff that feels good on your skin [cream? / shower gel? / exfoliating gloves? / sponges?]
* everyday items that feel good in your mouth / hands [cutlery / glasses / mugs, pens, notebooks]
* jewellery designed to be played with / chewed - fidget rings / spinners on necklaces
* bed linen that feels good to your skin
* maybe stuff that smells nice that reminds you of close people.
Predict and prepare for shortages
* Expect toilet rolls, pasta, cleaning supplies, PPE to be in short supply. You can stock up on all of these in advance. 2020 is still close - people will remember what there were shortages of last time and demand for these items will increase in anticipationof a shortage.
* Consider muslin / cut up old bits of fabric and a lidded bucket with disinfectant + water as a substitute for toilet roll for urine. [If things were really dire this would work for faeces / blood too, though I'd much rather start using fabric for urine earlier to save disposible toilet paper for faeces / blood] [and bear in mind that with some illnesses, the ill person may be advised to wash towels / clothes / bed linen at a high temperature / their bodily waste might be extra infectious, so limited toilet paper supplies might be most sensibly allocated to them]
* If bird 'flu, expect a serious egg shortage to last for ages. Experiment, whilst eggs are mostly available with egg substitutes in cakes / scrambled tofu etc.
PPE / cleaning - assume fomite transmission will be a problem in a way it isn't with COVID.
* FFP3 masks / respirators that fit everybody in the household. Lots of them.
* Work out where to quarantine post / deliveries / groceries
* Think about how to clean envelopes / boxes/ food containers
* Have enough emollient cream around that you can wash your hands lots without them becoming too dry/painful.
* Assume infection can enter through breaks in the skin, so try to avoid cuts - wear gloves for gardening, don't let your skin stay too dry. Cover cuts that happen with plasters / dressings.
Garden
* Consider the location of bird boxes / feeding tables in your garden - depending on which birds have it / how it's being spread [whether mostly bird to person or person to person] you might want to discourage birds from staying long in your garden by removing boxes / feeding tables. Alternatively you might want to add more to encourage birds to come in, to provide interesting stuff for you to look at out of the windows, especially if you're very stuck indoors.
* Consider whether keeping chickens to lay eggs is a good choice for you. [Might be, if you know you can keep your birds safe from infection. Probably won't be a good time to start doing this during a bird 'flu pandemic as there will be restrictions on moving animals / it'll be hard to tell if birds are infected or not. So if eggs are important enough to you to keep chickens, I'd start buying chickens sooner rather than later]
* Consider growing fruit / veg / herbs
* Consider an allotment for extra growing space [and good justification to leave your house]
* Consider allocating some space to outdoor exercise / for children to play. Outdoor exercise equipment is worth looking at.
* Consider shade for the summer / ways of warming the space in winter [to enable you to make good use of your garden space in different weathers, so you have more options than just indoords and also to have a safer space to invite guests to. Garden furniture that's comfortable to sit on is good.