Update (1050ET): It’s not just food. As Bloomberg reports, in the tiny hamlet of Cassago Brianza, half way between Milan and Lake Como, Giovanni Casiraghi was taken aback to find a long line of customers waiting when he opened his industrial equipment store on Monday morning.
They all asked for the same thing: a mask typically used in building sites or factories.
In less than 30 minutes, he had sold more than 500 of them.
“We sell industrial equipment and I know most of our clients, so I was astonished when people I’ve never seen before asked for these professional masks,” the 71-year-old said.
“Someone told me that I was one of the few shops to still have protective masks. Panic is spreading even here, far from the epicenter of the outbreak.”
Giovanni Casiraghi at his industrial equipment store in Cassago Brianza.
“It’s total panic,” said Michela, whose family owns the L’Arte del Panino bar in west Milan.
“There have been very few clients today. And we have to shut down the bar at 6 p.m.” She declined to give her last name.
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As Summit news’ Paul Joseph Watson detailed earlier, people in several regions of Italy have reacted to coronavirus spreading throughout the country by panic buying, leaving some store shelves empty.
With more than 220 people infected, Italy has the most coronavirus victims out of any country in Europe. Seven people have died.
Footage out of Milan shot yesterday shows some products almost or entirely out of stock.
🦠This is a supermarket in Milan. Sunday, February 23rd, 7:30pm. Hard to explain #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak #coronavirusitalIa #coronaviruslombardia pic.twitter.com/JfgeXg4gl8
— LorenzoDeVidovich (@ldv_ldv) February 23, 2020
Ma in che senso ? #COVID19italia #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/ENEV848vMG
— Sairy_94 (@Tupa_94) February 24, 2020
Some residents flippantly likened the situation to a “zombie apocalypse.”
https://twitter.com/mrvnbz/status/1231625635149336583
Ma che bello vivere un apocalisse zombie.#coronavirusitalia #Milano #coronavirus #COVID19italia #Esselunga #COVID19 #WuhanCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/I8h1gFyfoS
— Raffaele W.F. (@ralph090) February 24, 2020
Italians hoarding 'essentials' to survive #coronavirus#coronavirusitalia #COVID19italia pic.twitter.com/mgHVu0MUfk
— Antonio García (@media_maquina) February 23, 2020
Lock downs are in place in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, with 50,000 people being unable to leave without special permission.
Numerous museums, cinemas, bars, businesses and schools have also shut down and sporting activities have been suspended.
The Venice Carnival was also cancelled, while designer Giorgio Armani streamed his Milan Fashion Week event from an empty theater.
The panic is largely being driven by the speed at which coronavirus cases in Italy jumped from just 3 on Thursday to over 220.
“There is panic and a surreal atmosphere,” said Melinda Baret, a Filipino woman working in Milan as a domestic helper.
“I’m traveling using a face mask, and this morning in the metro there were fewer people than usual, most of them with a mask and the rest with a scarf protecting their face. I’m still going to all the families I work with, but I’m using a lot of precautions. I’m scared.”
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via zerohedge
I sure hope the Government gets their heads out of their asses attacking our president and get busy in Wth this is and it don’t sound so great people are passing away others are clearing store shelves went from three to two hindred?
Demonuts and the Republican Party and our health Dept need to figure a plan before it gets out of hand here and our people sick and passing away.
The ordinary influenzas virus’ (common flu) rolling across the country kills thousands in the US each year. The COVID-19 is a fast-spreading contagion, catching people off-guard mostly because they were not prepared, or under-informed; as is assumed with all those who died in the Wuhan district in China. Wuhan is the home of China’s bio-engineering lab where the virus is suspected of being released. The employees take home animals after testing is completed to eat or sell in the local market. There is still the suspicion that the virus is natural-progression, and not man-made. Even Chinese doctors and hospitals over-use antibacterials and anti-viral medications, not as much as American doctors, but there are a lot of super-bugs in the air today because of it.
The best way to avoid a pandemic is to take care of yourself by the same sane methods used to avoid the flu. Get plenty of rest, eat right, wash hands often — especially after you’ve been out. Study up some and learn about natural anti-virals, like garlic and oregano oil. Make sure to get enough zinc and selenium and vitamin-C (nuts and fruit, leafy greens). Most important is to avoid excessive sugar consumption in ‘cold and flu’ season, as it lowers your ability to combat contagions.
Preparing to ‘wait-it-out’ like holing up in your house is sort-of good, but most people don’t have that option. Of course, there may be lockdown situations you can’t control, like what happened in Wuhan; and having a stockpile or full pantry might come in handy.
If you go on a ‘raid the store’ trip, do it logically from a list you prepared; as you normally would go shopping. Except, this time you may want to double or triple the quantities.
There are many ‘prepping’ websites to offer help in a pandemic situation. Some are “chicken-little-the-sky-is-falling” types, others are more ‘homesteading’ type or back-to-basics “prepper” sites.
My favorite homesteader site is https://www.survivopedia.com/
I also like https://homesteading.com/ and https://survivallife.com/