Preparation is not a pleasant subject. Even my wife doesn't want to talk about it and I don't like to preach it. Generally, we all need to think about and plan a strategy to stay alive during a pandemic. Any rational plan involves self isolation. Self isolation includes all necessities for living, including air.
Just as some would sit at home with their guns in their hands to stave off a foreign invasion, we need to plan to stay at home to fight off SARS.
I'm just thinking aloud, but I'm wondering if we shouldn't have a 30 day supply of food on hand, a water and air purification system, and medical supplies for home care.
I am thinking we are all going to have to make a decision to either panic and do the right thing or stay calm and really screw up. I've never been confronted with these kinds of decisions before. Any suggestions?
First of all, you had better be thinking more along the lines of six months or more. You certainly won't find that things have returned to normal 30 days after the disease shows up in your neighborhood.
You will need to soak all food in a bleach solution. You will want to wash your hands very often, and keep all surfaces hospital clean. Don't go out without a filter mask.
Avoid all contract with strangers, or indeed anyone for whom you cannot account for at all times. You won't be able to work in an office environment without serious risk. Most offices will eventually be closed anyway, so this will not be a problem after a while. Getting food will be a real problem, and hoarding will begin soon if it has not already. I can't recommend hoarding, but prudence would dictate that you will need to be pretty much self sufficient for a prolonged period.
Some may see this as overly pessimistic, but the next few weeks will tell the tale.
If there is no breakout, we may be OK, if there is a breakout of the diasease into South Asia, Europe and Africa, or the caseload in Canada starts rising again, we will all need to think very hard about the weeks and months ahead.