Some things to have besides food storage and a normal supply of medicine would be to have cleaning supplies, maybe gloves and rubbing alcohol, and perhaps face masks. One issue is that face masks may be good to keep available for those who need it most. I'm not sure what is best practice to ensure you aren't taking face masks from healthcare providers or someone more in need.
Milk does not go bad a week after opening. Eggs don't spoil after two to four weeks in the fridge. A bag of bacon in the freezer isn't going to end you because it sat there for three months. Fruit juice doesn't go bad in 3 days. Butter doesn't go bad after two weeks at room temperate, let alone in a fridge.
The other element is how the item is handled. Traditional bacon stored in brine can last for months in most conditions however I would not attempt to store opened bacon for more than a week or so. Likewise if you have raw meat, it is all about what it has been exposed to that can make it dangerous. Cooked meat, if uncontaminated and cooked through can last for quiet a while and still be safe. Once contaminated it can become dangerous quiet quickly.
Of course, 3 months is plenty for the present discussion.
Commercially bought eggs in the US need to be refrigerated because they remove the outer antibiotic coating before sending them to stores.
The coating is oil from the chicken, and they wash it and replace it with mineral oil, which works just as well.
I speak from experience: I have not refrigerated US bought eggs for around 10 years. Not a single problem.
If you keep them un-refrigerated for more than 2 months (which I did because there was a really good deal, so I bought a lot), the eggs are not fresh, the yolk falls apart easily. (So not great in certain recipes.)
However they are not spoiled or anything like that, and the taste is unchanged.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirator-use...
- Whether wearing a mask makes it less likely someone will pick up an infection in constant conditions (direct mask efficacy, reduced touching, etc.)
- Whether wearing a mask makes it less likely someone will transmit an infection in constant conditions.
- Whether wearing a mask leads infected people to spend more time around others.
- Whether wearing a mask leads uninfected people to spend more time around others.
- Whether the way masks end up getting allocated in the event of a shortage promotes or inhibits spread at population scale (for example, if masks ended up overallocated towards people who're so concerned that they stay home anyways and away from people who don't have the ability to).
Theoretically they can... But practically there are so many routes to failure, the average person cannot use it.
If you were the guy with impeccable lab technique... Maybe.
If worn by infected people it can reduce the spread, but if this is the case the infected person should not be around others anyway.
https://sentido-labs.com/es/biblioteca/coronavirus-2020-02-L...
(Text and video subtitles are in Spanish, but sound is the original English)
But I should add, the CDC only recommends face masks for the infected and limits recommendation of N95 respirators to healthcare providers and those in workplace settings.
Should you go buy some? Probably jot
so, i advise people to leave the face masks of all types for utilization by our healthcare workers, as there will soon be a shortage and as a member of the public you should mostly be sitting at home rather than wandering around areas with other people anyway.
Before you get sick, start taking a multivitamin. Most people are vitamin D deficient in winter, which increases your risk of dying from respiratory infections, and it takes about 6 weeks to get your levels up. Also vitamin C, like 250mg. And do cardio.
- If you're in a cold climate, be aware of how to drain your heating (if you use water) or water supplies within the house in the event of an extended power outage.
- Have a normal kit.
- Keep the cars gassed up.
- Avoid travel to crowded places and aircraft.