I saw posts on Facebook about shortage of toilet paper in some parts of the world. People are hoarding them because of the corona virus scare. I thought those were just memes so I searched the internet and the memes are not just memes after all. It's true and all over the news. What does a psychologist say about the hoarding?
"There is comfort in knowing that it’s there,” says psychologist Mary Alvord.
Then a former townsmate and friend on FB who is based in Georgia sent me a link to this video.
I first laughed at the joke but suddenly stopped. Why? Because the video totally makes sense. It is not a joke. It is not as if there is no alternative to toilet paper. And saving the environment using a tabo? Oh yeah, let's give our mother nature that big favor and go buy a dipper instead of loads of toilet paper!
Metro Manila, the business capital of the Philippines, has been put on quarantine starting from more than 22 hours ago and will be until 14th April.
When the news came out that the metro might be locked down, my first thought was its effect in the country's economy. I am not an economist but to stop just public mode of transportations alone can hit a lot of people and businesses. How much more with other industries?
Being in the quarantined area, I can not get out. I can not go home to my family in the province. Social distancing and staying at home are highly recommended. All gatherings must be suspended. So my thoughts have been running over the weekend. What will a quarantined person be thinking? It's not prison, so fear not. I remembered what one of my colleagues asked me last Friday.
"Did you go to the groceries last night?" He meant after office hours and if I stock up for the "rumored" lockdown coming up.
"No. I went home and went to sleep." I needed sleep more than panicking.
That made me curious to see how things are out there. I went to the grocery store after noon time and did not know what to buy. I wondered why I hear people are panic buying but I can't even think of what to get. So far, I did not see panic buying.
I went to attend mass celebration in the evening only to know that even the church is closed. The trike driver said it was announced yesterday that Catholic churches will be closed today. Aha, I am not watching or listening to the news unless I need to find out something so okay, I missed that.
On my way back home, I noted the streets are so different. I have never seen it as quiet as this. The usual pestering traffic jam during this early evening is gone.
Out of curiosity, I got inside a grocery store to see how it goes. I don't see panic buying in here too. Three tall shelves of toilet paper are full. No one was paying attention to them!
So what are people buying? Tooth paste?
Ice cream?
Their usual stuff, I suppose...
What I can not find on the shelves is a bottle of either isopropyl or ethyl alcohol. I asked one of the store assistants and he said it is out of stock. Oh yeah, this is what Filipinos were hoarding. A regulation came out few days ago that maximum of two bottles are allowed for every transaction.
The queue of shoppers was just the usual queue I see on weekends. Thank God. People are calm after all.
I went to a pharmacy right next to the grocery store and looked for medical alcohol. There was also none in the first aid shelf. I don't think I can find one this time. I just hoped that aside from face mask, alcohol will also be prioritized in production.
So what should the people be hoarding instead in this time of crisis? Nothing, I guess. Hoarding is selfishness. I hope people will realize the impact of their actions and be socially responsible.
I hope too that people will continue to be calm while fully cooperating to the measures being undertaken by the government. On top of it all, self-discipline is called for now more than any other time.
And may medical researchers find the vaccine to kill the virus very soon. Or better yet, may the virus disappear like prior to its existence.
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The hand sanitizer liquid and medical masks are the first things that people in my country bought once the outbreak announced, then following with price increasing of turmeric, ginger and few other herbs/spices that we usually use in our traditional herbal drink (Jamu) and what's funny in here is.. people are making memes about Onion which now disappear from the market😂😂 goosh... see different country different concerns.
About toilet papers... since we usually use water for anything related to toilet business... it's there ..on every table of meatball's seller shop.
Ah, it looks like it's more fun in Indonesia with how you guys react to the virus. And I think you guys are actually reacting the better way because you focus on boosting your immune system with those turmeric, spices and herbal drinks. That is actually what one medical specialist mentioned. Instead of worrying about and buying a ton of alcohol, buy food supplements instead. It totally makes sense.
The hand sanitizer does not appeal much to Filipinos. If you look at the top of the shelf on my last photo, those are all hand sanitizers but were just ignored. Water supply seems to be the same here somehow. But everything changed from yesterday. Our confirmed cases rose to 100++ from just 49.
Today, our president declared enhanced quarantine which expands the scope of the quarantined area to one-third of our country. I have to admit, I am now scared. I really pray that this will be over very soon.
I'm in Spain where we have officially been on lockdown for 1 day now. Fortunately I've been slowly gathering our emergency food and things like toilet paper for several weeks. Every second time I went to the store over the last three weeks I would buy an extra pack of toilet paper, or water, or a couple cans of beans or food. Nothing unusual, just maybe 10% extra every other time. Glad I thought ahead now that we are quarantined, I wont have to go out and deal with the police and crowds nearly as often now. I plan on going out to get essentials once a week. I say get prepared now, things are getting a little crazy here, and I have a bad feeling they are going to get much worse before it gets better.
You're clever to have done that slowly stocking up while that never occurred to me. I was like, "It's okay. I'll do my regular weekend groceries." 😁 And yes, that is what I will do.I just hope people did not hoard everything from the store.
We were on enhanced quarantine since Monday night which means public transportation are suspended and private vehicles are being questioned at checkpoints. I am working from home on the second day now and is also the second day that I did not get out of the house. I am really curious how it is out there but we have to respect the quarantine. It's for our own good.
I hope things will get better very soon.
Yeah we were expecting something like this to happen. We were seeing the news from Italy and how Spain was becoming infected so we assumed it would be the same here, and sure enough it is. We can still shop fro groceries though but it is very restricted, and the shelves are quite empty lately.
It's good you are respecting the quarantine, every person that can stay home helps at this time. We are staying home as much as possible, and only going out to buy food when we need to. I think things will be ok eventually, but for now it is a bit nerve wracking.
Grabe nga talaga pag panic ng mga tao...
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Mukha namang humupa na ang pag-panic. Sana lang sumunod na lahat sa quarantine para mapabilis pagpuksa ng virus.
It is true all the toilet paper here in the states is gone. This makes no sense at all, but like you said they must feel better knowing they have it. I personally stocked up on flu and cold medicine thinking if I do get sick, aint no one going to come over to my place to help me get better. I wasn't scared until I went to Walmart over the weekend. There was panic. I grabbed what pasta I could find and got the hell out of there. I won't go back again. The one worker helped me put my groceries in the car not to be helpful, but because they needed to get the carts back as soon as possible to let other people use them.
I liked your meme but I laughed at this part:
It is actually sad to think about it when others take advantage of the crisis for their business.
You're wise to have stocked up on medicines. Maybe you can also have food supplements specially vit C. This is what one medical specialist advised that "instead of worrying about toilet paper or alcohol to clean yourself, you should buy food supplements and focus on boosting your immune system."
I was also not scared until last Monday when our president ordered enhanced quarantine. We are no longer allowed to go to work so we work from home. Thanks to technologies that we can do such!
I really pray that this will be over soon. I wonder how long I can last in home quarantine...
Thanks. I'm glad we can still laugh. I try my best to stay stocked with juice and vitamins anyway. My co-workers stocked up on airborne vitamin c a few months ago because of flu season, so we have all been taking it. Today I bought more juice too.
We are doing our best at work to keep everything clean. We all stay 6 feet apart while working and we keep the doors to the other parts of the building closed. There is a sign on each door that says to use your elbows to turn the handles and lights. It's insane but we are still working. We are a compounding lab so we made our own hand sanitizer and each of us have a bottle at our station.
Here in America they are beginning to close everything. First it was the schools, then the bars and restaurants and last night they closed the liquor stores. There's really no reason to go out but to get food and supplies. There is still a shortage of toilet paper here tho.
Most everyone is working from home. Our local weather man was broadcasting from his house. It's the craziest thing, but if it prevents us from spreading the virus it is worth it. Tomorrow will be my first day off, but I'm so tired from working it will be nice not to be bothered.
I hope you can find things to keep yourself amused. I am a gamer so I will be playing games and napping. :D
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