CORONAVIRUS Pandemic of 2020 WILL change the world as we know it.
We have had a multitude of diseases that have impacted our world, since the beginning of time. Recently the Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and the Zika virus caused some levels of panic in our society, but the Coronavirus is the most impactful virus that I have seen in my life. I have shared that the only other feeling that relates to what is currently happening in the world is 9/11. While both are totally different types of impact to our society, they will both change the world as we know it.
Coronavirus has been around for years, but there are different strains of the virus that mutate over the years. The current mutation appears to be the most deadly, because of how easily it spreads and there is no current vaccine. While most people who are young and healthy will either not get, or quickly recover from the coronavirus the impact is with older people, or those with a weak immune system. Those are the demographics where the coronavirus could be fatal.
Many businesses, sporting activities, gatherings, schools, have been shut down for the coming weeks. This type of action appears to be a good move, but it feels really strange to most, as we have never experienced this as a society. When there is fear and unknown people start to do strange things. Currently, those strange things are buying all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Yes, we understand that when we feel helpless we want to control something, but panic buying is NOT the answer. The reality, panic buying and hoarding may do more overall damage to society than the virus itself.
There are starting to be elderly people and those with other medical conditions that can’t get some of the supplies they need for their life. This is due to those panic buyers who are getting 100 rolls of toilet paper for a 2 week quarantine. Really, if you need that much TP for a few weeks you should have seen a doctor well before this right? I digress.
We have had our eyes glued to the news to see the latest happenings with the coronavirus and while I had been trying to stay away from the stores to let those that need supplies get them, we had to go investigate to see what was real vs. what was fake news that people shouldn’t worry about.
We went down to our local HEB grocery store in Waxahachie, TX and did a fun and informative video that you should WATCH BELOW. We wanted to see what you could still buy and also what were some items that people were not buying.
We had heard and seen pictures that there was a run on produce that morning and there was literally almost nothing left. We expected to go in and see devastation like a going out of business sale. We were surprised that the produce had already been restocked and there were only a few things that weren’t there. This goes to show that there is still plenty of stock out there and stores are starting to ration to help let ALL HUMANS have the opportunity to purchase food items.
We continued our walk around the store and learned that these items were still in mass supply:
-Plenty of sweets, candies, and ice creams
-Plenty of beer and wine
-Plenty of cheeses
-There was still numerous packs of bacon!
-Snack foods like nuts and chips were plentiful
-Medicines were still readily available
-protein bars and shakes were also in full supply
-Fresh meats and fish had been restocked and in full supply
Some items that we saw that been picked over:
-Frozen meats were heavily impacted and there were few left
-canned foods had been hit hard
-water was also in short supply
-beans had been picked over and of course some jokes about this are inserted into the below video
-cereals had been picked over although there were a few boxes left that were interesting to which ones were left behind (see video)
-frozen vegetables had also been hit hard and there were few choices left.
-Of course all paper products had been picked over to the point there were no tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.
We noticed that in the areas where things were picked over there were options on the top shelf. We believe that many people could not reach these items, so if you’re tall you have the ability to get some items that others can’t reach, or you could be a good person and help others reach these items. We also noticed that while most frozen pizzas were almost picked over there was one luxury brand of pizza that cost about $12.00 per pizza that were in full supply. This shows that if there is a higher price point item people may pass this by when in panic buying. They may have allocated their entire budget to toilet paper:)
Speaking of toilet paper, while we understand and appreciate that these are serious times we always aim to bring some levity to your life to make you smile. Being happy and laughing help deal with hard times and actually increase your overall life satisfaction and ability to lower cortisol that can boost your immune system. We knew that there wouldn’t be any toilet paper, but asked multiple workers if they had any more toilet paper in the back. I would caution against if you’re actually being serious, we laughed with them afterwards about the whole thing. These workers are to be commended for continuing to help bust their butts to help get everyone the supplies they need. I know there have been some fights and harsh words spoken to many of these employees and they DO NOT DESERVE that! If anything everyone of us should THANK them for coming into work. Imagine what would happen if they did not.
Our conclusion is that, yes there are some items that are in short supply, due to panic buying, but there is plenty of food to keep everyone fed. To me that is more important that having a few extra rolls of toilet paper.
Things WILL BE OK! Remember don’t panic buy, help others, be kind, wash your hands, stay positive, stay well.
This is Luke and Sketchy with Tailgating Challenge bringing you this Public Service Announcement.
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Written By: Luke Lorick 3/15/20
