How should you prepare for a lockdown? (Hint: It doesn’t involve private islands or jets)

Preparing for the coronavirus pandemic means more than just stocking up on basic food and personal hygiene and cleaning products — but some people are taking it to new (and lavish) heights.

While everyone else may be hunkering down in their respective homes to wait out the worst of the coronavirus pandemic that’s currently sweeping the globe, a select few have taken self-isolation to the extreme: chartering private jets to specially prepared, disaster-proof bunkers that would put some of the world’s most well-appointed hotels and private residences to shame.

Those who have decided to stay inland, meanwhile, have taken to tapping doctors from private clinics in order to avail of private coronavirus tests. (Related: What is social distancing and can it prevent the spread of coronavirus?)

“This [the coronavirus pandemic] has led to huge demand from very wealthy people asking if they can pay for private testing. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer testing, as the NHS has said all tests should be done centrally,” Mark Ali, chief executive and medical director of the Private Harley Street Clinic said.

According to Ali, a cardiovascular surgeon by profession, his clinic has also offered an intravenous infusion of vitamins and minerals to the “worried wealthy” to boost their immune systems. The vitamin drip? — which is composed of vitamins C, B12 complex, as well as minerals like zinc, and amino acids and antioxidants? — costs £350.

This is in stark contrast to the average American, Jewel Mullen, associate dean for health equity at the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School, said.

According to Mullen, millions of Americans can’t afford to stock up on supplies, as well as miss work or have a doctor on standby whom they can call for advice — even on a good day.

“Resources like money and transportation and information give people head starts on protective and preventive measures and can help create more comfortable scenarios for people to cope with disasters,” Mullen, an internist and epidemiologist who was commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health, said. “That’s where you really get to see disparate needs,” she added.

Lockdowns 101

It might sound like something out of a grim, apocalyptic movie, but a coronavirus lockdown need not be a stressful endeavor — it can actually be a pretty smooth-sailing one if one prepares for it accordingly.

Here are some things you can do:

• Stock up on healthy food. If your community is going to be under a lockdown, chances are your movement in public would be severely limited — thus lessening your chances of making it to the local groceries and farmer’s markets. Before that happens, stock up on about a month’s worth of healthy and shelf-stable food.
• Stock up on personal hygiene materials. Same as with the issue regarding food, you can’t really run to your neighborhood convenience store once you run out of personal care products when your city gets locked down. Thus, it’s a wise decision if you buy enough supplies to last you and your family for a whole month.
• Stock up on potable water and water purifiers. Lockdowns can sometimes go hand-in-hand with shifts in the water supply, as authorities will be more strict with outflow and the like. In preparation for this, you will need to prepare enough water, around a gallon per day per member of your household. You will also have to consider the possibility of having to use water purifying tablets and solutions, so it would be wise to stock up on those as well.
• Stock up on sanitation products. Keeping your surroundings clean becomes even more important when facing threats such as the Wuhan coronavirus, hence the need to stock up on things such as bleach and other necessary disinfectants and cleaning products.

While a lockdown may seem like a scary and troubling prospect, it’s a necessary measure that the authorities must enact to protect the entire community and its residents in the case of an outbreak.

Read more about pandemics at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheGuardian.com

Bloomberg.com