Social Distancing? COVID-19 Blog Entry #3

Home Depot, San Leandro, 3/22/2020

I made a futile attempt this morning to get a few things. We're running a little low on paper towels and like everyone else I'm anxious about supply completely drying up as the cases in the U.S. ramp up. I'm also saving the 91% Isopropyl alcohol we have from before for hand sanitizer so I wanted some more for wound care.

The trip was as much about assessing the situation at local big box retail as it was about getting things. I'm trying to plan in the face of entire systems we can no longer predict or count on. Very unsettling. We're going to need to restock at some point. I'm trying to figure out how that's going to work.

I hit two Wal*Marts, Home Depot, and Walgreens. Yesterday I tried a Target & another Walgreens. I've not tried lining up at opening which seems to be the only way I'm going to get the stuff in high demand. Really, really want to avoid that.

Today I managed to find some 71% alcohol, another bottle of hand soap, and I got some Zip Lock bags 'cause we're running low. Grabbed some Clorox foaming bleach cleaner too. There are NO paper towels or TP.

Bottled water was back in stock, by the pallet, and there was not a run on it. Food seems to be pretty much okay with a few exceptions like pasta in some stores.

Did pretty well on the social distancing. Wal*Mart was okay when I got there. People started to show up after I got there and the health care product section was getting tighter than I wanted so I left. Home Depot was nearly empty. I stopped at a Walgreens too. Again nearly empty. They had tape on the ground at the register line to help keep distancing. I was in and out of Walgreens so no issues.

That said I think it's really, really hard to strictly practice social distancing. The aisles in stores are not twelve feet wide. There's not room to line up at the registers if there's a crowd. Go to the newest stores you can. They will have more room to spread out.

Next time I go out I think it'll be time to put on the shop respirator with the P100 filters and my googles and deal with the lack of social distancing. What if someone sneezes on me? I don't know.

As for the public scoldings going on about people going out. Fair, but, we do need to get stuff. With the supply chain the way it is right now it's hard to figure out what to do. We have TP for a while, yeah. Based on what I've seen the past couple of days it's not going to be there if I let it run out. Do I wait? Do I keep trying? Amazon & other online sellers are NO help right now, at all.

Do the best you can folks. I think we're going to be in this mess until at least July.