OT: Dispatches from the front lines - Kroger edition
Some observations from a Sunday afternoon trip to Kroger in Troy.
Several shoppers wearing masks and gloves; other shoppers avoiding said mask wearers.
Pasta and pasta sauce gone. Except for the kind flavored with meat. Frozen pizza also gone, as was the toilet paper.
Plenty of flour, sugar, potatoes, meat, and other staples.
Lessons learned? Americans are incapable of cooking from scratch or cleaning their asses.
Stay safe out there.
To their credit, South Korea also has 12 hospital beds per 1,000 people, while Russia has 9 beds, China has 3.3 beds, and the U.S. has 2.8 beds. (Our rate of staffed beds is even lower.) In addition to their other right moves, South Korea well positioned to handle this outbreak well. The U.S., not so much.
And he probably deserves a bit of credit for delaying the spread by banning flights from China, but after that, it is hard to find much that he has done right and it is easy to find much to suggest he has made a bad situation worse than it needed to be.
Our global response team goes, or went, to other countries to keep that shit from getting here. Very effective during Ebola.
We also should have probably done something to stop people from buying out our entire domestic stock of N95 masks another critical supplies and sending them to China back in January.
Instead we ignored all the warning signs.
And for the record, when we stopped travel from China I thought that was great, but all international flights should have been terminated. And domestic flights should be cancelled now.
I'm going to take Dr. Anthony Fauci's words and interpret them as much as I can: yes, the administration has royally fucked this up. Whether it's him specifically, or the people around him, the buck stops with the President.
It's partisan when someone has the inkling to defend their politician of a particular persuasion more than they would any other neutral party. Fauci is a nonpartisan physician that has served across several administrations, and he's made it pretty clear that our response to this is totally non-optimal.
Fauci is a good guy, he's been there since I was in the "business" (i.e. academia) myself.
There are some things that have happened that could have happened to any administration. For example, instead of ramping up importation and distribution of the WHO test, which worked, the CDC created its own test, which failed and cost valuable time. That's a fuck-up you don't expect and a POTUS isn't going to go vet the labwork himself (unless I was POTUS, of course). It is reasonable to expect professionals to do their jobs.
But then there are the things that literally no past administration of any party would have fucked up. Like when you're giving a primetime address to the nation to calm them and the markets, and you don't get your speech fact-checked by anyone other than Stephen Miller and your idiot son-in-law, so it comes out rife with factual errors and you spend days cleaning it up. Or you tell the nation anyone who wants a test can now go get one when in truth that reality is weeks away from when you said it. Or you make travel restrictions without informing the relevant stakeholders in advance so they can prepare the points of entry. That is particular to this gang of idiots.
The WHO test had a 30% failure as to its accuracy. That’s why the US wanted a test of its own. The biggest problem is all the red tape that doesn’t allow for the private sector to contribute. What he should have done in January is declare a state of emergency then and allowed the private sector an opportunity to do what it does best, innovate.
Pretending there wasn’t an oncoming storm was just ignorant. Putting up political roadblocks is purely insane.
Do you have a good source for the WHO test's failure rate? I'm honestly asking, since I saw the same thing but from a unreliable source. I'd like to hear it from something better.
If true, it adds a layer of nuance that everyone yelling about the tests is missing. In some ways, an unreliable test is worse than no test at all. Do we really want to send people away with negative tests when up to 30% are actually positive? I think it would give people a false sense of security, who would go out and cause more infection. On the other side, do we want to use our limited resources on people with positive tests that don't need treatment?
I'm not a doctor, and I don't know what the CDC and/or FDA's acceptable false positive/false negative rate is. But, assuming their standards were created by professionals, the smartest scientists available, etc., I don't really have a problem with sticking to our own requirements.
I'm not sure where you're pulling this business about the WHO test having a 30% failure rate. The WHO test was already being used around the world with great efficacy by that point.
Why the United States declined to use the WHO test, even temporarily as a bridge until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could produce its own test, remains a perplexing question and the key to the Trump administration’s failure to provide enough tests to identify the coronavirus infections before they could be passed on, according to POLITICO interviews with dozens of viral-disease experts, former officials and some officials within the administration’s health agencies. LINK
The duplicative effort is the latest obstacle that is slowing the federal response to COVID-19, which has infected more than 1,300 people and resulted in 38 deaths in the United States. Progress was already delayed because the CDC decided to make its own test rather than adopting the design endorsed by the World Health Organization. The test then didn’t work properly and had to be fixed. The problems were further compounded by delays in certifying tests by private laboratories as well as a shortage of supplies and raw materials used for testing. LINK
Kroger no Pizza Meijer lots of Pizza. Potatoes no at Kroger, yes at Meijer. Blueberries and Strawberries at both. Plenty of meat and seafood. Lobsters were happy so far. No paper products at either. Eggs at Meijer, didn't check at Kroger.
This report from Fort Wayne. Don't really give a shit whose fault this is China. Looking forward, unlike you boys here.
Stay safe and keep calm. Fix things don't break them.
That's great, I had none of those said things at either Kroger or Meijer except blueberries. I even went to a third store for eggs...no luck
User name checks out.
Want me to hold your hand when he wins again in November?
I mean, with his record, who wouldn’t want another 4 years?!
Let's talk about YOU, Mr. President-Fo-Life.
How’s that reset of your reign of terror going there Vlad?
In the Ann Arbor Main St. Busch's a few days ago, the hot items were TP, dried beans (but not Fava or Lima), and Tofu. Very Ann Arbor.
My wife made 2 pies yesterday for pi day so that was awesome. With all this self-isolation on the horizon I think we're going to be eating pretty well. Chest freezer downstairs has several racks of ribs, and the weather is warming up, so barbecue is definitely in the plans. Alcohol stash respectable but running low on herb. Fresh veg and fruit is going to be a challenge if we don't want to go to the store, but if this thing drags out long enough we'll have the spring garden produce by May. I fucking love rhubarb.
Ribs where the only thing left at the Whole Foods I went to is MA this morning. The entire produce department was cleaned out save a few more exotic fruits/veg. Yogurt was gone. Chicken was gone. Lots of expensive beef cuts, but almost no pork except for the ribs and belly.
I was shocked by how many people were at my local grocery store yesterday at 7:00 am in a rain storm. I go almost every Saturday at that time and normally there are very few customers. I didn't need any paper products so didn't venture down that aisle, but I did notice there was no distilled water and only the more expensive bottled water available. The checkout lanes were backed up because there were so many people and most had carts overflowing with items.
On Friday afternoon at a Meijer in GR while waiting in line I had some really good conversations with others in line with me. I have not talked to people in line like this ever. Felt good about it. I'm thinking most people are sane and understand how this is taxing the checkout people and the stores.
Drink Vernors!
I’m in Mexico right now practicing severe social distancing with medicinal drinking by the pool. Glad to hear all is not lost at the local Kroger.
News from home the past two days has my wife totally stressed. It appears going through immigration and customs is going to be very painful and once we Do get home, all the food will be gone from the markets. Thank god we went to Costco two weeks ago to buy toilet paper. I may have a bargaining chip to barter for food.
As for insights from the front lines down here, this place is slowly emptying. As more guests check out, there are few arriving to take their place. Restaurants are maybe half full at best. Most appear to be around 30% of capacity. No coughing, sneezing, or other visible symptoms going on around us.
What's the weather like? Mexico has 47 cases according to worldometers. I wonder if sunshine and/or warm weather are slowing transmission.
Weather is warm. As I understand it, viruses don’t like UV light, so being outdoors is a good place to be. We also don’t have anyone within 12 feet of us. All the restaurants are open air, too. The big risk will be running the gauntlet through O’Hare on Wed.
all the food will be gone from the markets.
There's absolutely no reason to believe this. Nothing has disrupted the supply chain except for fear. Grocers are still getting regular shipments of their entire product lines. Give people a few days to make their next three weeks' worth of purchases -- plus probably 20% additional stuff that will end up going to waste -- and the shelves will be normally stocked once again, with the likely exception of the truly short-supply items: masks (not that you should be wearing one unless you have reason to believe you're sick) and hand sanitizer (which is less effective than soap and water).
People are acting like this is a hurricane or a blizzard, and trucks won't be able to get supplies to the warehouses and further on to retailers, but that's simply not true.
I guess you couldn’t detect I wasn’t taking that seriously based on my bartering with toilet paper comment. I know the whole food supply chain hasn’t come to a grinding halt. I’m chill. Don’t worry.
Two supermarkets in Upstate New York had no meat, toilet paper, sanitization goods, eggs, pasta or water. Everything else was well stocked. Plenty of beer in both though!
I avoided the supermarkets in NYC because I can only imagine how barren everything was and how insanely nasty people were.
and people wonder why we live in the country
Just stopped by a very rural dollar general in Georgia (South of Macon). Panic buying just starting to set in. Maybe 40 rolls of TP left (10 packs of 4). Woman had a buggy full of bleach in front of me.
moonshine disinfects lots of things. you should be fine?
I actually have enough high proof booze to make sanitizer, but that'd make me sad.
#toughtimescallfortoughdecisions
#yourboozeoryourlife
Is bleach used to make meth?
Either way, that seems like a purchase she's going to regret.
I'm at Meijer on Jackson Road in AA right now. Not quite deserted but hardly anyone here. On a Sunday afternoon.
Kroger on Maple in A2 at 9 am seemed like normal. Parking lot about 1/4 full, no lines at checkout (no wipes at carts) water was low , Tp was there (one brand), produce was full, I got the last bag of popcorn...Netflix binging needs popcorn.
Edit the place that was crowded was Brighton St. Rec. area. Hikers and MTBikers out in force. My legs were fine after the ride but my lungs were not liking the 40 deg gulps on uphills.
Downvote for not putting the Michigan "s" on Krogers
Add an apostrophe and now we're really talking.
Kroger's
Where we shop: an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat nearly gone, toilet paper aisle completely empty. Diet Coke almost gone.
March 15th, 2020 at 11:15 PM ^
Diet Coke definitely one of my dad's panic purchases.
March 15th, 2020 at 10:44 PM ^
Thread jack. I live 5 miles from the Kroger DC that supples all goods for the Midwest in Delaware, Ohio. I know many people who work there who are high level managers. They are completely out of toilet paper and are selectively triaging it to all Kroger’s until further notice. They do not expect a recovery of inventory levels by the toilet paper supply chain for about 4-5 weeks. Plan accordingly.
Things aren't much different for us other than the TP shortage.
My wife picked up a case of diced tomatoes (we usually use locally-grown Romas). We just finished our last jar of homemade spaghetti sauce AND pizza sauce. Both will get replenished this week. Ground venison goes in the spaghetti/lasagna/etc. We've still got about 10 meals worth of pesto in the freezer from the bumper crop of basil last summer, about 15 qts of applesauce and 30 pints of salsa.
Add in the salmon, northern and walleye fillets as well as wild turkey breasts and thighs, and we'll have enough to eat even with the kids not heading back to college.
I love Michigan's Great Southwest!
I've got 8 liters of wine to bottle (from local pears) and will probably make another batch of Summer Ale in the next few weeks just to top things off.
BTW - if you don't know how to make yogurt, it's very easy. There's actually very little effort. It just sits in the oven overnight with the light on and ferments. I do a gallon of Greek yogurt every 3 weeks or so for the price of a gallon of whole milk.