From Tools For Survivial:
Prevention—What You Can Do
- Distance yourself from or avoid people and crowds. If you must go out, stay at least six feet away from individuals.
- Wash your hands for at least 30 seconds using soap and water frequently, but especially after using the bathroom, before cooking, and after shopping, opening doors, touching elevator button and grocery carts.
- Don’t panic or buy into the hysteria. Stay vigilant and research. The info being disseminated in the beginning is usually wrong.
- Get vaccinated.
- Self-quarantine.
- Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze—preferably into your arm or elbow, not your hand.
- Wash your sheets and pillowcases every few days in hot water.
- Germs can live on surfaces for days. Disinfect surfaces regularly with bleach. Wipe down your desk, door knobs, handles, light switches, and elevator buttons at the office regularly with cleaning wipes.
- Heed the warning. Pay attention to advisories and take precaution. It is better to be safe than sorry. Stay inside if you must—you and others can spread disease without feeling sick or showing symptoms.
- Do not go to the hospital unless it is an emergency. Medical resources will deplete. Hospitals and doctor’s offices are hot beds of sickness. If you can, take advantage of your insurance’s call in service if available.
Prepare for city services to be interrupted, hospitals overrun and even shut down, and grocery stores out of stock. The bug-out bag or emergency survival kit you have already prepared is a basic start, but you need a few extra supplies to add to it to be ready for a pandemic.
- Hand sanitizer
- Cleansing wipes
- Water—at a minimum stock one gallon per person per day. In times of illness, you will need more!
- Drinks that contain electrolytes
- Over the counter, essential prescriptions and antivirals for a month (Discuss your options with your doctor)
- Blankets
- Copy of your health records
- Disposable gloves
- Masks. Masks are helpful, but standard surgical masks don’t do much to fight the flu, because the virus is small enough to pass through. The CDC writes in its H1N1 flu advisory, “facemasks help stop droplets from being spread by the person wearing them. They also keep splashes or sprays from reaching the mouth and nose of the person wearing them. They are not designed to protect against breathing in the very small particle aerosols that may contain viruses.”
- Household Bleach
- Cleansing wipes
- Soap
- Non-perishable food
- First aid supplies
- Emergency cash
- Copies of important documents
- Flashlights
- Batteries
- Radio
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape
- Garbage bags with ties
- List of emergency contacts
- Matches, lighter or other fire starter
- Manual can opener