© Provided by ABC Health
While some Australians are filling their pantries, others don't see the need. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Jessica Hinchliffe)
The Federal Government activated its coronavirus emergency plan last week, as experts warned that a COVID-19 global pandemic could soon be declared.
While we're still being told to go about our normal lives, under a worst-case scenario in Australia, measures would include:
- Aged-care homes being locked down
- Childcare centres being closed
- People having to work from home
University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay told the ABC people needed to think about whether they had enough medication and food to last a fortnight (while also cautioning against panic buying, saying, "We don't want to see empty shelves").
Already, some supermarket shelves are starting to empty.
We asked our readers on Facebook Messenger to tell us what steps they'd taken (if any) to be prepared in case things got worse. Here's what they told us.
Colin D told us he'd been preparing for a while
His family started buying extra essential, long-life items in January:
"This avoided undue load on supply later. Examples are pet food, canned foods, rice, disinfectant, toilet paper, disposable gloves. Not a huge supply, but enough for a few weeks."
Alyson R told us it was 'better to feel prepared rather than worried'
This is what she's got stored up:
"Two months' worth of prescription medicines for the kids. Stocked up on cold and flu remedies and Hydralyte ice blocks.
"One weeks' worth of portioned family meals in freezer, plus frozen meat and dried food (soups, lentils, beans, rice, pasta, long-life milk, dried fruit and nuts, etc) to get us by another two weeks if needed."
And Sarah C said she was privately preparing even while scoffing with friends about 'crazy preppers'
These are the measures she's taken:
"We've quietly cleaned out the pantry and restocked with enough food for a couple of weeks. Our family doctor has given us extra scripts for our regular medications and we've filled them.
"We're trying to walk that fine line between panic buying and sensible preparations. We've reviewed good hand-washing techniques with the kids and banned shoes on in the house.
"We're using it as an excuse for a spring clean and a reminder that there is nothing inherently crazy about making sure you have the resources to nurse your family through a time of crisis."
For others, stockpiling supplies isn't anything new, given financial pressures or the threat of natural disasters
Jeanette O says it's no different to stocking up for cyclone season:
"Have started buying additional long-life and tinned products including pet products. Not 'panic mode' shopping."
Sheryl M says living in Queensland, she's always kept emergency food supplies in case of power failures or shops being inaccessible:
"If you are really hungry, tin food and dried food is better than no food."
Dusty V is out of work due to a medical condition, and so is relying on welfare while living in a small outback town:
"Luckily for me, family sent me money at Christmas time. I used that money to stockpile basic essentials.
"I can make breads, soups and stews, but fresh vegetables and fruit are a struggle and meat, eggs and dairy are out of the question.
"Everyone is panic buying because of the virus, but this is my reality because of the low rates of Newstart. Happy that I'll be fine if the virus does hit, but this will be my reality long after it passes."
For some of you, it's not yourself that you're worried about
Megan G has had to think about her mum:
"She's 80 years old, lives in Melbourne. I live in Cairns. I have tried to buy up her toilet paper, tissues, prescriptions, soap, etc, while I am here this week.
"The chemist refused to let her get prescriptions in advance on the PBS. This was annoying. She won't let me stock her up too much (set in her ways) despite the fact I won't be able to come back to help her if outbreak happens close to her.
"I'd prefer to have the attitude of preparing for the worst while expecting the best. I would have liked to stock her up for three months but only managed a month."
Christine R has a similar story:
"I have put my Queensland-based mum on notice that I will be driving up to bring her back to Sydney with us. She is largely wheelchair-bound, and all of her children, and all but one grandchildren, live outside of Brisbane."
Kate A says her family is lucky because they're all relatively healthy:
"I really worry for elderly or disabled people, or people with prescriptions that they cannot stockpile."
Lyn F says her greatest difficulty is having an elderly parent in a nursing home:
"If it goes into lockdown and we can't visit, we can't attend to the dozens of things we still do for her that staff at the facility don't have time for."
Geraldine Y is worried about pets:
"It's not so much a matter of transmission, but rather due to the fact that the infected person is feeling too unwell to take care of the house pet or pets."
At the other end of the preparedness-scale, there are those who hadn't really thought about it
That includes Sarah H:
"Honestly, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind until I received this notification. I absolutely wouldn't have enough supplies in my house to last me more than a week."
And Helen C:
"Haven't done anything yet, but I'm thinking I probably should."
And Suze N:
"Now that you have prompted me, first things first! My dog is on a prescription diet so I need to make sure she has got enough for at least a month!"
As well as Simone K, who told us she couldn't afford it
"As a student, I work a casual job earning minimum wages and certainly do not have the money to buy weeks' worth of food. Stocking up is for the wealthy, not for a student like me."
And finally, there are those who simply aren't too worried
Patrick B:
"Everything is going to be fine. I have friends and relatives who have been in lockdown for the past month in China and they are all doing fine."
Sheryl G:
"I haven't thought it necessary to change my life at all. I think it's stories like this that frighten people unnecessarily and don't do anything positive or helpful. Scaremongering achieves nothing."
Gabriel H:
"No plans to take. Just leave it to God and pray for His protection."
Alex M:
"No preparations have been made. We don't think it will become serious enough here in Australia."
Jen F:
"If worse comes to worse, I'll buy my groceries online and then just Netflix and chill."
At Microsoft News Australia we've partnered with the giving platform Benevity to raise funds for UNICEF: Donate now and help health workers in the battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Coronavirus Health Information Line. Call 1800 020 080 if you are seeking information on novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The line operates Monday–Friday from 8am to 8pm, Saturdays from 8am to 5pm, and Sundays from 9am to 5pm.
Pictures: Coronoavirus (COVID 19) outbreak
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China has been battling an outbreak of a new SARS-like coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which originated in Wuhan. The virus has claimed over 1,000 lives in mainland China – far surpassing the death toll during the SARS outbreak in 2003 – and infected over 43,000 people around the world. The Chinese government has allocated $144 million to combat the virus. The country and several of its cities are under a travel lockdown as other nations try to contain the spread of the virus, with major airlines suspending their service from and to the Asian nation. Outside of China, the Philippines reported the first death on Feb. 2, 2020, and Hong Kong on Feb. 4. The other 25 countries and regions infected by the novel coronavirus are Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, U.K., U.S. and Vietnam. On Jan. 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.
(Pictured) A man in protective gear waits to evacuate residents from a public housing building in Hong Kong on Feb. 11.
Members of the media stand near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.
People wear masks as a precautionary measure at the Seoul railway station in South Korea on Feb. 10.
A resident wearing a protective face mask looks on at Patan Durbar Square in Patan, Nepal, on Feb. 10.
A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask as he stands guard outside National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.
A woman walks past a sand sculpture depicting people wearing protective masks with a message reading 'Fight against coronavirus, we stand with China' made by Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at Puri beach in Odisha, India, on Feb. 10.
Tourists wearing face masks visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 10.
People wear protective masks as they wait to cross the street in Hong Kong on Feb. 10.
A worker wearing a protective suit carries a fogging machine as others prepare to disinfect a business establishment in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 9.
A passenger wearing a mask walks outside the Shanghai railway station in China on Feb. 8.
Workers produce protective clothing at a factory in Wuxi, China, on Feb. 8. The factory, which previously produced suits and sportswear, switched to production of protective clothing as demand increased due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Family members of passengers from the cruise ship World Dream docked at Kai Tak cruise terminal, wave on shore in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. The cruise ship with approximately 1,800 passengers remained quarantined in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on Feb. 8. Several passengers from mainland China on a previous World Dream cruise were found to have the new coronavirus on returning home.
A Hindu devotee wears a mask as she carries a milk pot on her head at a shrine in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 8.
French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnès Buzyn leaves after attending a meeting about the situation of the n-CoV 2019 coronavirus, in Paris, France, on Feb. 8. The minister said that five British nationals including a child have tested positive for the new coronavirus in France.
Tourists wearing face masks line up near a departure gate at the airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Feb. 8. Thousands of Chinese tourists are reportedly stranded in Bali following suspension of all flights to and from China.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the media during a press conference on the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. Lam said that the government has bought 48 million masks and received 17 million more from China to counter the shortage of masks in Hong Kong.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has his temperature checked during a visit to a clinic in Gyeonggi, South Korea, on Feb. 8.
People wearing masks walk in a subway station in Hong Kong on Feb. 7.
People look on from the quarantined cruise liner Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7. About 64 passengers from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Another ship, the World Dream, has been docked and quarantined at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. It has 3,600 passengers and crew on board.
Flight attendants wearing protective clothing and masks serve snacks to Canadians, who had been evacuated from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus on an American charter plane, on another aircraft taking them to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton from the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Feb. 7.
Nurses check the temperature of visitors at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 5.
Joe Parisi, Dane County executive, discusses the first confirmed case of coronavirus in a Wisconsin resident as Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway looks on during a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on Feb. 5.
Workers in protective gear are seen on Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 5, bringing patients from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Workers wearing protective gears spray disinfectant on a street at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 5.
A public health ministry nurse measures the temperature of a passenger arriving from France, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Feb. 4.
Employees wearing face masks are seen at a hotel near Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 4, where people who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, are quarantined as a preventive measure.
Sylvie Briand, director of infectious hazard management department at the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a press conference on the coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 4.
Beds are set up at an exhibition center, which was converted into a hospital, in Wuhan on Feb. 4.
This handout photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health shows citizens being directed onto a bus by health officials as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in Feb. 4.
People wear face masks as they go about their daily lives in Singapore on Feb. 4.
Medical workers hold a strike outside the office of Hospital Authority in Hong Kong, as they demand the closure of borders with China, on Feb. 4.
A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 3.
Police walk past signage before the arrival of Myanmar students, who were evacuated on a chartered flight from Wuhan, at the international airport in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 2.
Members of the Association for Sri Lanka and China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) hold candles during a vigil to pray for people who are suffering from coronavirus across the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 1.
German Minister for Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (R) and German Minister for Health Jens Spahn give a joint statement in Bonn, Germany, on Feb. 1, on the evacuation of more than 100 German citizens from Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak.
Arnaud Fontanet, director of global health department at Institut Pasteur, speaks during a news conference over the latest findings on coronavirus in Paris, France, on Jan. 31.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Didier Houssin, chair of the emergency committee, at the opening of the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV in Geneva on Jan. 30.
Medical staff with protective clothing are seen inside a ward specialized in treating people who may have been infected with the virus, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital in Chennai, India, on Jan. 29.
Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference at the United Nations, in Geneva, on Jan. 29.
Passengers arriving on flights wear protective masks at the international airport in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 29.
Students disinfect their hands before entering class at a school in Phnom Penh, on Jan. 28. Cambodia's health ministry reported the country's first case of coronavirus on Jan. 27.
A woman wearing a protective mask prays at the Lungshan Temple on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 28.
Paramilitary officers wearing face masks stand guard at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Jan. 27.
Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of Ontario (C), speaks as Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the city of Toronto (L) and Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, during a press briefing on coronavirus at Queens Park in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 27. The Ontario health officials announced the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Toronto, along with a presumptive second case of the virus in the city.
Images captured by a thermographic imaging device to check the temperatures of arriving passengers at a quarantine station are seen on a monitor at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on Jan. 26.
A security force member stands in front of the pandemic center where a suspected case of coronavirus is under observation at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Jan. 26.
A banner placed by Indian health workers is seen during a coronavirus information camp for travelers at an India-Nepal border crossing, near Siliguri, India, on Jan. 26.
(L-R) Sabine Hagenauer of the infection department at the 4th medical department of Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, Michael Binder, medical director of the Vienna Hospital Association, and Judith Aberle of the department of virology, Medical University Vienna, address a press conference at Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 26. A Chinese flight attendant was quarantined in the hospital with symptoms of flu, in what authorities suspected as the first coronavirus case in the country.
A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing, on Jan. 25.
Dozens of diggers work to build a new hospital in Wuhan, on Jan. 25. Due to the large number of infected people, the government decided to establish a temporary 1,000-bed hospital.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a press conference in Hong Kong on Jan. 25. Announcing a citywide virus emergency, Lam ordered the cancellation of all official trips to mainland China and school shutdown till Feb. 17.
Security personnel wearing hazardous material suits measure body temperatures of passenger at the entrance of a subway station in Beijing on Jan. 25.
A disinfection worker wearing protective gear sprays anti-septic solution in a train at SRT train station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
Sanitation workers spray a disinfectant at Suseo Station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
A passenger holds up an Australian Government document pertaining to the coronavirus as passengers arrive at Sydney International Airport in Australia on Jan. 23.
Locals wear face masks while browsing in a store ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, on Jan. 23, 2020. A day earlier, Taiwan stopped sending tour groups to, or receiving tour groups from Wuhan, China, due to concerns over the cornonavirus outbreak.
Passengers arriving from China are screened at Kolkata International Airport, India, on Jan. 22, 2020. Screening centers have been set up in the Indian cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin apart from three airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to screen for the coronavirus.
People walk next to signage detailing hygienic practices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 21.