Toilet Paper

The old farmer took his wife out for supper last night and we decided that since we were cleaned up and in town we might as well do a little shopping.  The wife had bought a bundle of toilet paper at the IGA in Mackinaw at noon (no panic there), so we really didn't need any.  At Sam's they were totally out of TP, but people were carting out cases of bottled water.  Fortunately, we have a faucet in our house that produces all the water we want for free.  An employee told me that they got a semi load of TP  in over night, and it was gone within 20 minutes of opening in the morning!  Our next stop was Kroger's, and I felt like we were in a third world country!  Or a Russian grocery store during communism!  The fresh meat counter was empty, the dairy case had no milk in it, and there was no bread, eggs, powdered milk, and of course, no toilet paper. Other shelves were ransacked and picked over.  Menards and hardware stores were out of dust masks, and most don't even stop the virus!

Fear and Panic rather than caution and common sense.

I blame the CDC, followed by the media and politicians.  In this time of e-commerce and home delivery of anything, surely we don't need to keep a three month supply of toilet paper in every home.  If you are quarantined, a delivery service (think UPS, FedEx, Speedee, DoorDash, GrubHub, Schwan's, etc.) or your friends, family, or caretaker can drop off supplies in your yard or driveway as needed.

I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus, and I understand why the cancellations and steps are being taken to drastically slow the spread.  We do not want to overwhelm the health care system.  Limit all international and interstate travel.  Limit social activities.  Isolate communities with confirmed cases from others.  Practice good hygiene and sanitation.  Stop large crowd events, especially ones that draw people from a large area.  Self isolation if you even think you might be getting sick.

But create fear, panic, and hoarding?  No.

In China, where it all started in November, they have 81000 cases with 3200 deaths to date.  China's population is 1.39 billion people.  That makes the overall death rate of .002 %.
In America, 1.25 million people die in car accidents each year.  That's an average of 3287 people killed every day!  With a population of 330 million, that is a .38% overall death rate!  I bet more people were killed this week driving to buy toilet paper than have died in China from Covid-19!

The Ebola outbreak in 1976 had a 40% fatality rate, SARS in 2002 had a 10% fatality rate, and MERS in 2012 had a 34% fatality rate. So far, Covid-19 is less than 4%.  Annually, Influenza kills up to 61,000 people a year in America, and up to 650,000 people globally.  We need to keep everything in perspective.

Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
Genesis 50:21

Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
I Samuel 22:23

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 34:11