Coronavirus and the 2020 toilet paper crisis

[guest311]

I hope we don't get to the stage where you'd need to follow the instructions I was once given in a lecture on 'rat packs' ...

the cpl taking the lecture was explaining about the contents of various 'rat packs' and came to the 'toilet paper, sheets, two' ....

needless to say, someone fell for it and enquired why only two sheets ....

that's all you need, was the reply, followed by a demonstration ...

take one sheet ...
fold in half....
fold again in half ....
tear off the corner .....
place finger through hole ...

do the necessary....

fold paper up over finger, wipe, and discard   

I'm sure he was only joking 

[Snowwolflair]

You can always use tabloid newspapers, and given the quality of whats written on them these days this could also be classified as a pleasure 

[Bob Tidbury]

The problem with using newspaper is you get a black bum instead of a brown one .
SO Ime TOLD
I can't remember that far back only remember as far as Bronco paper or slip and slide as we called it at school.
Bob Tidbury

[daffy]

If you work on a building site you can always use discarded cement-bag paper. You only have to use it on a few occasions before you find you don't have need to use it again!

[acko22]

Hi all,

So as some of you know myself and the better half are expecting twin girls soon  and as such have to make regular visits the the antenatal clinic at Wythenshawe hospital so have gleaned some info from our Doctor and from an old school friend who is a Virologist so knows a rather lot about viruses so I thought I would share what I have learn't and maybe dis spell some of the hysteria around the virus:

COVID-19 IS A COMPLETELY NEW VIRUS - FALSE - This strain of respiratory illness has been present in animals for a long time and is a close relative of both SARS and Avian Flu both of which are respiratory illnesses. This strain is suspected to have come from bats with compelling evidence to back this up however just like SARS and Bird Flu this specific strain of the illness found in bats has made the evolutionary jump and is now capable of infecting humans.

ANYONE CAN CATCH THE ILLNESS - TRUE - It is the commonly held medical understanding that anyone can catch it as we (humans) as a species have not yet developed immunity to the virus as we haven't been exposed to it before, but that is not to say that we all get an even dose as such with the illness having more of an effect on some than others, in fact the trend has been such that children and pregnant women have show more resilience to this virus than most!

COVID-19 IS HAS A HIGH MORTALITY RATE AMONG THOSE THAT CATCH IT - NOT AS CLEAR CUT AS IT SEEMS - The current global mortality rate is around 3.4% according the the WHO which is high when compared the the seasonal flu but not a surprise when the fact is that is a completely new strain of the disease to humans. But a common trend has been those who have sadly died after contracting Covid-19 is that there been they have under lying medical issues that have affected their immune system making their bodies less able to fight the virus.

THIS IS A JUST ANOTHER FLU (INFLUENZA) VIRUS - FALSE - While it shares some common characteristics in method of transmission (quote from the WHO) "both viruses are transmitted by contact, droplets and fomites. As a result, the same public health measures, such as hand hygiene and good respiratory etiquette (coughing into your elbow or into a tissue and immediately disposing of the tissue)", it is NOT the same as a common flu virus in a manner of different ways which are way to complicated for me to even understand  let alone explain.

IT'S A SEASONAL ILLNESS AND WILL BE GONE BY THE SUMMER - UNKNOWN - As with any new illness that is found the answer is time will tell, as evidence says this strain of respiratory illness came from bats they are now been researched to find out more about the illness in the species and what can be learn't and applied to fighting the illness in humans.

WE NEED TO STOCKPILE IN CASE THIS GETS WORSE - FALSE - There is zero need to stockpile unless you are going to go into isolation and then only get what is needed for the recommended period of 14 days, in fact stockpiling certain products is detrimental as normally ready supplies of certain products become sparse and if this illness potentially gets worse it could encourage or become a factor in its spread if widely needed resources become difficult to come by due to stockpiling and hording.

ANYONE COULD HAVE THE ILLNESS OR BE CARRYING IT, NOT EVEN KNOW AND IT IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS - 50/50 - Unlike the flu which has a rapid incubation period (around 3 days) before a person shows symptoms, COVID-19 is around 5-6 days so in the later stages of incubation yes a person could be passing it on without realising it but due to this longer incubation period the transmission rate is slower than the common flu illnesses making it actually less contagious that the common Flu.

FACE MASKS AND ALCOHOL HAND WASH ARE THE GOLD PLATED SOLUTION - 50/50 - In fact the standard face masks people are hovering up (those rectangular ones you pin behind your ears and the type you pick up from a DIY store) do very little to protect as it's not their designed purpose! If you are thinking of getting masks the most effective breathing types are the ones which have charcoal in as its a natural filter (Medical and military grade respirators use charcoal filters). Even these don't give complete protection unless you want to wear a full face mask such as those used by the military!
Alcohol gel is a double edged sword yes it kills any bacteria or virus on your hands but over use drys your hands out which in turns causes them to crack allowing another route for the virus and other infections to potentially get in! The best option is always warms soapy water with alcohol gel as a back up if that isn't possible or in the case of public toilets after leaving as well they are known to be rather unhygienic places at the best of times! 

All in after speaking to 2 actual practicing medical Doctors this is what I have gleaned, so it's fair to say there is cause for concern of course, but as CPL Jones used to say "DON'T PANIC", at least not yet anyway it just makes things worse! As long as we just take extra care and precautions and let the medical professionals do their bit there is not to much we can do apart from listen to their advice and professional judgement take it on board and act accordingly, which last time I checked didn't involve mass stockpiling of  roll!
On that note its toilet time and to save the bog roll wheres that recent bill..... 

[Bealman]

Apparently there were reports that John Travolta had the virus, but no, it was just Saturday night fever, and he's stayin alive, stayin alive 

[Trainfish]

Friend of mine told me last Monday he wouldn't be going to the gym for a few weeks until things had settled a bit regarding the virus.

I did that when we had bird flu (a female form of man flu of course) and haven't been back since. You can't be too careful with all those sweaty young ladies around. Never had a virus since!

[Platy767]

Dropped into my local Aldi on the way home from golf today and was pleasantly surprised with a nice stock of rolls. Strictly 1 pack per customer, but they are packs of 8 and are double length rolls. Good on you Aldi.

(I say I wasn't getting concerned, but in reality, I was!)

[daffy]

Apparently there were reports that John Travolta had the virus, but no, it was just Saturday night fever, and he's stayin alive, stayin alive 

Ah, ha, ha, ha........

[dannyboy]

I can understand that people may be using loo rolls for when they sneeze etc., but to panic buy?  I think a lot of people are just behaving like sheep. Tomorrow, I will be calling in to the local Tesco and have decided that I will walk round the store with a trolley full of sugar and if any body asks, I will just say "Haven't you heard?" - see what happens. 

[guest311]

I have a confession 

down at Tesco's this morning, just milk / bread / fresh veg / tea / coffee / eggs / a few bottles / and some bottled water, well what comes out of the taps ofter smells like a swimming pool 

so, down the water aisle, picked up x 5 bottles of water, and noticed a couple watching me .....

so picked up another x 5, then looked baffled ...

'that's a lot of water' from the husband 

'should have got a larger trolley' I replied, 'hope there's still some left when I get back' ...

'what ?'

'haven't you heard ? with the heavy rainfall, there's going to be a water shortage... it's on all the sites, something about wrong water in wrong place !' 

headed off, and as I left the aisle, looked back .........

they had about x20 bottles in their trolley 

I know, it was wrong ... but so much fun   

[Mr Sprue]

Well I'm ready for anything now!

[acko22]

Well I'm ready for anything now!

Well what you and Mrs Sprue get up to in your private time is completely up to you we won't judge you.... much

[daffy]

Oh dear! Looks like you forgot the loo roll.

[guest311]

and that's just getting ready to go shopping, ....

I hope