scrubbedexpat091

Korean Air is reducing service to Vancouver from daily to 4 flights per week.

sharkus

A few friends have mentioned their employers are preparing to test out having all their employees attempt to work from home for one day, mainly to figure how wether systems and processes can do this, and where the gaps are so they can figure out solutions. Not a bad idea really.

More companies cancelling events, or at least the in person side of things. Google I/O and Facebook's F8 being two. I'd have a good bet that Apple will do something similar for WWDC too. They usually announce the dates around about this time, event is usually June or July.

I have heard of travel policies being updated to clarify things, for example, there were questions about wether corporate bans on international travel applied just to air travel, and it's been clarified that it's any method of travel. Cancel meetings unless they can be virtual. If they absolutely must be physical, no more than 10 people.

What I don't currently understand is this toilet paper buying craze going on. Use it instead of tissues perhaps? I've seen articles about people brandishing knives to get the last pack of TP, police having to taser unruly people buying TP. Weird times my friends, weird times.

spouse of scouse

Read the thread and find out.

Nand

I really do believe stores will stay open and they will order more TP. It is curious this TP looting thing.

dave_j

It's a mystery...
In extremis, I can think of any number of items that I'd rather hoard than toilet paper, and as for getting really upset and fighting about the stuff, well I can only think that the stuff tastes nice.

Siouxie

Simples... people don't want to have to leave the house and go to a grocery store to buy toilet paper if Coronavirus is prevalent where they live - they want to stay home and isolate themselves as far as possible... so they want enough of a supply in to last them a few weeks... if they have big families, then they would need more..
Toilet paper is one of those things that you really don't want to be without.. unless you have a bidet, of course

dave_j

Yes...
It's just another example of how far we've fallen down the 'I'm homo sapiens, I can cope with anything' scale.
My father-in-law wrote a really enlightening view of his life about 1920 in the Black Country. Of the night soil collector, the communal outside lav, and the top and toe sleeping arrangements of the nail and chain makers of Cradley.
Today, it would seem, a few days without loo paper and it'll be the end of the world.
I blame Thomas Crapper.

scrubbedexpat091

Washington state will cover testing for those who don't have insurance and has also ordered health insurance companies to waive deductibles and co-pays for testing.

"For the uninsured in our state, whose doctors believe they need testing, I am announcing that we have the authority and intention to cover those costs by the state of Washington,"

"state insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler said that an emergency order was sent to Washington health insurers to cover required COVID-19 testing without copays or deductibles"

70 confirmed cases.

https://kuow.org/stories/wa-state-to...xEhjuCwqSqv9XY

scrubbedexpat091

First community case appears to have occurred in BC.

"But one of the newly identified patients is a woman who hasn't travelled to any COVID-19 affected countries and has no known contact with anyone in B.C. carrying the virus."

""This is a community case and we are doing a detailed investigation right now to try and determine where her source of infection was," Henry said."

8 new cases, and likely to rise now that testing is ramping up, they are testing people who seek medical attention with symptoms of flu for Corona virus as well now.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-identifies...case-1.4840984

scrubbedexpat091

I have a feeling the summer cruise season in Vancouver is going to suffer this year, not good for the local economy but why anyone would risk a cruise right now. Travel insurance companies are starting to announce they will not cover any cancellations etc on new policies sold as people know the risk now, so book a trip now its at your own risk, but the companies appear to still be covering trips bought prior to their announcements.

235 Canadians stuck on a ship off California coast.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/corona...airs-1.4840592

spouse of scouse

Took Mum for a GP appointment this morning (didn't go well but that's another story). On the way home she said she'd like to go to the local shops. When I said I'd go for her and drop the things off, she said she wanted to go with me. Why? Because she wanted to see the Great Toilet Paper Rush for herself. I think she was hoping to see a fight Very unseemly for an 86 year old

Anyway, I talked her out of it and went by myself. Didn't dare tell her that there actually was a bit of a kerfuffle in the toilet roll aisle, they'd just put some on the shelves so I stood back to see what would happen. What happened was there was a mad rush of people from every direction, banging their trolleys into other people's in attempts to get pole position. And then the shrieking started - Get out of my way! No, you get out of MY way! I was here first! Dear Lord.

Exit, stage left

dave_j

You australians obviously have more extreme extretorial needs than the rest of us. It's almost certainly due to the awful beer and wine you drink, I recommend a devastatingly hot curry regime, morning and night, to cauterize the digestinal tract eliminating the need any loo paper at all, simply point and sigh, works for me.

christmasoompa

Which may explain the hoarding in certain places, but certainly not in the UK where grocery deliveries are common and you can just buy loo roll on Amazon that's delivered the same day. Our supermarket shelves were bare yesterday, it's bloody ridiculous!

spouse of scouse

Bloody ridiculous here too, nearly all the loo rolls used in Australia are made here and there's no shortage at all, the warehouses are full of the stuff. The only shortage is on the shop shelves, because as soon as a delivery comes in it's gone - so the shops have to wait for another delivery.

scrubbedexpat091

Who would have thought toilet paper was such a hot commodity around the western world in such situation, I never even thought to stock up on it...ha ha

The stores around me still have some, wonder how many packages will end up being returned provided they are not opened and used of course.

Amazon doesn't do same day, at best 2 day delivery, but I find them rather expensive for toilet paper.