Request for Information (RFI) – Coronavirus Supply Sitrep
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I took a few quick jaunts to the local box stores and super markets over the weekend. Some observations:
- Obvious things were not available – masks, gloves, rubbing alcohol.
- The smaller grocery stores were low on TP and gallons of water but the BJs had plenty.
- Chatted up three different clerks and liquor stores while buying Everclear and they said that they sold more of that in the past week than in the previous month, and that many were openly stating it was for hand sanitizing. At $30 for a 1.75L handle, I will probably go back and get a few more bottles (besides the obvious use for 95% alcohol, it would prove useful in a barter scenario).
- I was surprised that more OTC medicine wasn’t gone.
- Canned goods were a little lower than normal but otherwise fine.
I am located in suburban New Jersey. Many colleges are moving to all online instruction here and rumors of public schools as well are surfacing. Many social events have been cancelled.
I fully intend on updating this article over the next few days as well with my more current observations.
I wanted the AP readership to sound off on what they are seeing in their AOs as well as any tips for supplies that others might not be thinking of. Here are my Requests for Information (RFIs):
- What supplies are low or nonexistant in your AO?
- What supplies are suprisingly available?
- What supplies would you recommend that are outside the box of normal thinking?
- What interruptions in public services are you seeing?
- What interruptions in patterns of like are you seeing?
- If comfortable, a general idea of where you are located (vagueness is obviously fine – I mean, AP gets it lol)
Please report in the comments below and share any other similar reports you have seen elsewhere as well.
Update 20200312 20:32EST:
Went to a Resturant Depot after work. I chatted with a clerk for about 10 minutes. He said that from 1pm to 5pm it was a madhouse. Water was limited and hand sanitizer was flying off the shelves. One dude jokingly coughed and said he had Coronavirus and the clerk scolded him because “I didn’t know if he would have made it out of the warehouse alive”. He also said “…as I would stock one jar of cherries and grab another, it was gone”. I grabbed about 136lbs of beans and some #10 cans of veg as well as some honey, white vinegar, and apple cider vinegar.
I then went to Home Depot. They still had supplies of paper products and cleaner, though all of the Lysol wipes were gone – a testament to people being lazy or just following the herd because they are not cost effective. No masks obviously, and only a few paint coveralls. I grabbed some tubs to store my items in and moved towards the door.
I intend on checking out Walmart, Shoprite, and BJs this weekend for one final check. My job has ordered us to work from home for at least the next two weeks (I expect that will be extended) so come Monday morning I am not venturing out if I can help it. I even put my gym membership in freeze mode and will continue to do Wednesday WOD type workouts at home. As such, I may start to post those workouts multiple times a week so keep an eye out for that.
A big thank you to everyone who has contributed their comments below. AP is not just the writers, but also the community, and you are doing a service to others with your information. If there are any breaking developments, please leave a comment below. A similar post to this will probably be up at least every other week to monitor changing conditions on the ground.
Stay safe and keep your powder dry. God Bless.
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About the Author: Patriotman
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GUNS N GEAR
Tidewater area Virginia – from Toano to Va. Beach – across the James River to Wakefield – north to Petersburg – no panic buying. Plenty of canned goods, OTC meds, water, vitamins, etc. Grocery stores and pharmacies normal stock. Masks and gloves low stock. Out into the Virginia Piedmont it seems to be the same story – from Gordonsville to Farmville. The calm before the storm. Security, food, weapons.
Suggest topping off medical supplies – perhaps pet antibiotics if needed. Suggest get involved with a local church group if not already. They will be islands of charity and hope in the coming hard times.
Best Regards to all
Red in OleVirginny
Thank you! God Bless and stay safe.
I’m not a doctor, but one thing was clear to me. Covid-19 can produce lower lung congestion and you don’t want to use cough suppressants; you want to break up the congestion and cough it up. For that you need something like Mucinex.
Was at WM the other day; out of rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes and down to just a couple jugs of bleach. Food stocks looked OK, but I didn’t walk all the aisles.
I’m in central KY, with cases within 100 miles but nothing local.
Thank you! God Bless and stay safe.
Also excellent point about Mucinex. I was surprised how in stock it was by me.
North Wyoming here, along the DMZ.
Went to three grocery stores in the county seat yesterday. A small one, nationwide chain, was absolutely and completely cleared out of TP. Another small one, regional chain, had TP in abundance. Didn’t look at Walmart.
All three stores had no dry milk. Twas the fourth attempt for that product at Walmart over the past couple weeks. Of the two stores where I noticed, canned meat was well stocked. It hadn’t been, ten days ago at Walmart.
Ten days ago, Walmart had no CR-123s at one of their battery kiosks. Yesterday they were well stocked.
I was looking for Brazil nuts, for the selenium. The three grocery stores apparently do not ever stock this item. Found it in bulk at a health food store, shelled and salted for $15-something/pound.
I did notice more people than usual, wiping off their shopping carts with the supplied wipes. Nobody was wearing a mask.
One thing to not forget, is a supply of dog food equal to the people food you have for your hunkering-down period. It stores better in some climates than others, so think ahead on that.
Good points! Thanks for reporting in. God bless!
1. Scarcity items: 91% and 70% isopropyl alcohol, masks of all varieties, hand sanitizer, liquid hand and body soaps, sugar, fuel cans, and generators. All can be found but it takes effort to look at different stores.
2. Zero balance items. Rice, dry beans, canned meats other than fish, baby wipes, bulk flour, bulk yeast.
3. Controlled supply rate items (store limits in place): baby diapers, formula, dry milk.
4. OTC meds generally available, except children’s cold meds.
5. It’s planting time, so buying seeds is normal for us this time of year. Might not be for other folks. Also, consider battery operated fans like we use on job sites. Ryobi and Milwaukee make good ones that use their common recharging batteries. Might be helpful for comfort in spring power outages. Consider an inverter to use your car as an ac power source. Also a small solar panel with charge controlller. 100Watt solar panels can be had cheaply right now and used to charge all kinds of things.
6. Public services relatively normal right now.
7. Patterns of life. Much less traffic in the local berg. Folks seem to be staying home.
Significantly, at a local big box store In the city a couple hours away, the checkout girl mentioned stocking up on ammunition because of the rising shortages. That’s an indicator even in western Kansas.
Very nice report. Thanks! Ammo means people are preparing to defend what they have imo
I’m in a rural part of Northern Ky. Hit the Red Neck Mecca on Sunday , the only shortages I saw were Great Value paper products gone . Maybe they come from China, (idk) plenty of all of the name brands . Had plenty of alcohol , peroxide , and OTC meds . Didn’t check hand sanitizer , (wife’s a retired teacher , we have sanitizer out the wazoo). Went to a local gun store yesterday , plenty of everything. School system north of here announced it’s going online for a month , our local schools are still open .
Glad to hear that you have plentiful supplies. Not the case up here, I am afraid.
I live in a rural part of NE Ohio but work all over the Metro area. Several cases have been reported and many schools, universities, and events have been shut down over the last 24 hrs. I was in western OH for work this week- stopped in Kroger and many people appeared to be frantically stocking up.
My wife and I started filling holes in our pantry in earnest 6 weeks ago when the reports out of China were looking bad. Feel good about our family preparedness, but many others seem to be unprepared. I just did a stock shop for my brother who’s out of town with his family on vacay, the local grocer here was well stocked except for toilet paper. Most places around town are rationing things rubbing alcohol, sanitizer, etc. Heading to Sams Club now to hopefully find some more supplies to stock at our office.
There seems to be a strange sense of anxious dread in the general public- similar to the days after 9-11. This is like a slow motion catastrophe that can get very bad very quick. If you don’t have what you need to survive at home for min 6 weeks- go shopping today! Who knows what will happen in the next 24-48 hrs.
Wise words: “If you don’t have what you need to survive at home for min 6 weeks- go shopping today! Who knows what will happen in the next 24-48 hrs.”
Thanks for checking in! God Bless.
Here in the Warrenton, Virginia area, mostly toilet paper, hand sanitizer, clorox wipes and such, from the grocery stores. The Dollar Store seemed to be faring better. Most importantly, the ABC stores have stayed well stocked!
Courage and sanity are in very short supply in these parts (CA)
Completely shocking /s
Here in Utah. National Guard headquarters Salt Lake City parking lot completely full this week . Juan County Sheriffs department full of law-enforcement vehicles and deputies. Small town highly unusual for that to happen. FYI located on a major interstate South of Salt Lake.All over Central Utah paper goods are nearly gone. Canned goods to pleaded everywhere but still can be found.
“National Guard headquarters Salt Lake City parking lot completely full this week”
Very interesting. Perhaps more enforced quarantines and/or stationed at shopping centers. Thanks for reporting in and God Bless!
Nashville area (my AO got hit by the tornado recently, so some supplies were low last week due to that as well). ~dozen cases locally most likely (9 official in TN)
What supplies are low or nonexistent in your AO?: sanitizer, Clorox wipes, Alcohol, bleach (some stores), TP (Walmart and Aldi), Tuna and canned chicken bulk packs gone this morning at Wally World. Ramen was CLEANED OUT. lol soups and canned veggies picked over more than normal
What supplies are surprisingly available?: Hydrogen peroxide, iodine-based disinfectants, Hibiclens, ammo, pool cleaner, OTC meds/vitamins were mostly in stock, batteries seemed picked over, but some places have been without power for over a week from the tornado…
What supplies would you recommend that are outside the box of normal thinking? food for your animals
What interruptions in public services are you seeing? Metro Nashville schools are out today/tomorrow through end of spring break
What interruptions in patterns of like are you seeing? Several people with obvious long-term storage food laden carts at Walmart at 6:30 this morning, local hospitals are making Corona virus ERs out of parking garages and the like to keep people away from regular ER folks.
“local hospitals are making Corona virus ERs out of parking garages and the like to keep people away from regular ER folks.”
Interesting observation. Trying to keep the actual hospital functioning by setting up satellite sites. Thank you for the report and God Bless!
An update to my previous comment- Just hit the local BJs in suburban Cleveland to buy some supplies for my office and I’d describe the scene as near-panic. Following was observed:
Check out line halfway through the store
No carts when you walk in
Some yelling/arguing between customers
Toilet paper being taken as quickly as the clerks could put it out
Rationing of bottled water- limit 2 packs per customer (this was being blatantly ignored by some)
Overheard clerks commenting: “I’ve NEVER seen anything like this”, “We will not be getting ANY breaks today”, “Looks like everyone is panicking”.
I purchased the last case of white vinegar on the shelf (we use for cleaning/disinfecting- seems like others do as well)
My takeaway is that currently the reaction of the unprepared public will likely have a greater affect on your daily life than the potential viral infection will. Stay safe. Be prepared not scared.
“My takeaway is that currently the reaction of the unprepared public will likely have a greater affect on your daily life than the potential viral infection will. Stay safe. Be prepared not scared.”
EXACTLY. Thank you for checking back in!!
What supplies are low or nonexistant in your AO? rubbing alcohol, mask, aloe vera gel, toilet paper, lysol, clorox, wipes,
What supplies are suprisingly available? OTC meds, bottled water,
What supplies would you recommend that are outside the box of normal thinking? OTC meds, canned food, baby supplies if you have little ones,
What interruptions in public services are you seeing? deliveries of Clorox, lysol, toilet paper, etc
What interruptions in patterns of like are you seeing?
If comfortable, a general idea of where you are located (vagueness is obviously fine – I mean, AP gets it lol) Central Georgia near Macon
OTC meds as well, interesting. People are thinking prevention and not treatment while under self quarantine. Thank you for reporting in and God Bless!
Joseph .. I meant Juab County / city of Nephi Sheriffs Office was busy today … canned goods and foodstuffs depleted everywhere but available
Additionally, Restaurant Supply Stores ( wholesale ) told that they were running short on rice , water and beans sugar and some limits on sugar purchases…although they were available when I was there . Med supplies of all kinds starting to run low
Ah, gotcha. Thanks for clarifying and for the additional sitrep!
Central Valley, California
• CoVid 19 has limited local presence (reported), significant presence in SF and LA.
• Some defensible indication of out-of-town buyers coming into Central Valley to purchase supplies, in bulk. Possible limits on PCP (e.g. toilet paper).
• “Normalacy Bias” fully deployed in some instances, but reasonable Californian’s are more abundant here in ag land.
• No indication of increased crime locally. Sigint suggests concerns from local LEO re: unprepared individuals teaming up to relieve prepared individuals of food, water, sanitation, still monitoring.
Mustang0268 sends.
“Sigint suggests concerns from local LEO re: unprepared individuals teaming up to relieve prepared individuals of food, water, sanitation, still monitoring.”
Ohhh very interesting. Keep us in the loop. Thanks for the sitrep, brother, and God Bless!
Sat quietly recently but this is important sharing of info:
Central/Western Oklahoma
What supplies are low or nonexistant in your AO?
Masks, alcohol, TP the same as bout everyone else. Ammo sales have risen significantly
What supplies are suprisingly available?
Regular and many OTC meds
What supplies would you recommend that are outside the box of normal thinking?
Trash burning barrel in case service is interrupted. Brush/weed killer in case fuel is disrupted because tall weeds/grass mean fire danger and enemy approach. Propane and firewood for cooking if power is interrupted.
Pre digging 2 holes with machines. One for trash one for poop in case y’all ain’t got septic tanks.
What interruptions in public services are you seeing?
None yet
What interruptions in patterns of like are you seeing?
Many jobs taking hits, schools closing early for spring break, sports though I don’t watch or care
Good luck to everyone.
“Trash burning barrel in case service is interrupted. Brush/weed killer in case fuel is disrupted because tall weeds/grass mean fire danger and enemy approach. Propane and firewood for cooking if power is interrupted.
Pre digging 2 holes with machines. One for trash one for poop in case y’all ain’t got septic tanks. ”
I have not seen this posted anywhere but you are 100% correct – particularly with the trash burning barrel. Thanks for the thoughtful response and God Bless!
I’m also working on UV lights for surface areas, our battle rattle gear as we return etc.
The current supply of Lysol is only gonna last so long.
It’s a new area to me so I’m learning. This bug ain’t as bad as the next one could be.
3/12/2020 Suburb 25 miles North of Dallas.
Walmart: Toilet paper and cleaning products pretty well out of stock. Canned good were decimated, but available. OTC cold/flu medications non-existent. Dry beans and rice gone (canned beans available). Meats gone. Milk gone. Bread gone. Convenience items like frozen pizza gone.
Kroger: Looks like a tornado came thru and just sucked everything off the shelves.
Whole Foods: Busy but still fairly well stocked on most items, probably because this tends to be a higher end (read: more expensive) store. By this time I was tired of people, and the store was just too peopley for me, so I just took a look around and left.
Thank you for the information! Seems to match up with other parts of the country
3/13/2020 Suburb 25 miles North of Dallas.
Two of four DFW metroplex counties have already declared emergencies as community spread (“unknown source”) transmission is occurring. Bans on groups of 250 or more indoors or out. Several school districts have extended spring break by a week or until the end of March, and I expect most to follow. Dallas may be different due to the large number of kids that depend on the school for meals. Many churches are cancelling services in favor of online streaming, and most all events have been cancelled as well. Local colleges are extending spring break and announcing that classes will resume in an online format.
Restaurants and retail have seen a slowdown in business as more people stay home. Several large corporations have implemented “work at home” (WAH) plans.
I work at a college and we are on a two week “work from home” period to start. Thanks for providing the information. God Bless!
Business as usual as far as I have observed. People do seem focused on such things as hand sanitizer and TP, but there is no sign of panic. Nearest municipality has made some travel changes for it’s employees and three local colleges have cancelled classes. Public schools are still in session. The local gym I frequent is still busy with no sign of panic or change in operation. I reside in the SE in a mostly rural county on an isolated, but not remote, property. No shortages have been experienced to date, but we are ready if such a situation presents itself.
Good to know it hasn’t presented as panic yet. It gives you more time! Thank you and God bless!
Crazy Stevo, East Peoria, IL.
1. As of yesterday, so canned items were waiting for restock.
2. People here are not taking this serious. Everything is available. People think licking doorknobs are a semi normal thing here though.
3. None.
4. School is out for two weeks.
5. None.
6. East peoria, il
Your comment made me literally LOL. Thanks for the update – and humor – and God Bless!
Newburgh NY – Walmart – ZERO otc meds all varities, toilet paper, papertowels, tissues, flour, vegetable oils, pastas, milk, bottled water, scant canned veggies.
Bayonne NJ – Stop n shop – all paper goods, milk & alternatives, meats, bottled water, pasta, rice, bread, oils, frozen veggies,
sanitizers, gloves, masks have been gone for days, Pharmacy lines LONG for prescriptions.
Thank you!! Be safe and God Bless.
Interesting to hear that Bayonne is that way as I am a New Jerseyite at ome point in my life and I would have epected the other way. Thanks for sharing and God bless!
I am 80 miles from Ontario Canada in a small town of 400 souls in northern Minnesota. Our little grocery store is still in great shape even has toilet paper. Community is most aged with a few young families hard working folks in timber industry for the most part. Not much panic going on here yet. Folks are still just going about their routines as usual. We are getting excited for spring as she’s been a long snowy winter.
You are probably benefitting from fairly tight knit community ties as well, right? That will pay dividends as time goes on.
Welp, update from East Peoria, IL.. The virus is across the river from me. You cannot buy pork, chicken, or beef at any stores around here. Bread and milk is now running low, can goods are being depleted.
Oh with it that close, I am not surprised. Hopefully you are squared away! Be safe and God Bless.
4
Central Valley California aka (Prius-stan)
• Two reported cases of CoVid 19
• Schools closed Friday, awaiting potential issues related to a) parents having to watch kids for a month (not able to work), b) possible shift to “cash only” condition as small merchants worry about credit payments (watching for signs of “ATM Currently Out of Order).
• Large undocumented communities may be less likely to self-report, despite assurances from government, potentially increasing clusters of untreated CoVid sources.
• Sigint continues, less CoVid related concerns, more 2nd and 3rd order consequences of issue, e.g. lack of supplies. LEO reported a fight in WM parking lot over water hording, unconfirmed.
“watching for signs of “ATM Currently Out of Order”
Excellent point! The 2nd and 3rd order effects are the scariest. Thanks for reporting in! God Bless
Just did an early AM run with the Mrs. to our local Wally and chain grocery. Wally was ripped through pretty good this week. 2 packs for TP left on the shelf. Dry good isle of rice, dry beans was darn near cleaned out. Canned goods section was very sparse. Frozen food sections were 99% absent of any vegetables. Frozen chicken breast wiped out. College kids must have raided the pizza/frozen entry section nothing left. Chain grocery stores are plenty full. not one single isle was hammered by panic shopping. Out to Fleet Farm a bit later on to see get a SITREP.
Thanks for the report! God Bless and stay safe.
16MAR2020
Prius-stan
• HUMINT source relays “Target store in greater Los Angeles experienced “shoppers” mobbing off-loading truck at the loading dock, demanding toilet paper”. LEO were dispatched, just not in time. Monitoring.
• Three ATM locations recce’d, no sign of “ATM out of cash”.
• Primary grocery store, 24/7 x 364 days a year: SUN15MAR0445 hours – was closed, not to open until 0700. ~ Forty (40) people in line at that time. Employee announced “We only have ½ pallet of toilet paper, some is being off-loaded now, but we won’t open until 0700 for employee safety”.
• SIGINT: LEO responses appear to be normal (deployment staffing/response time), no apparent increase in CoVid-19 related issues.
• County wide, two (2) reported virus cases (travel-related), but County Health officials clearly indicating, based on number of tests still be analyzed and simply geometric progression, that they are expecting more cases. Lots more.
• Reported shortages: Toilet paper, bottled water, flu-related OTC medications, diapers, baby food, beans, rice.
Mustang0268 sends
Thank you for the continued sitreps!
Sorry for the late SITREP on local Fleet Farm. Store is well stocked with exception of ammo and garden seed. Spring seeding normally covers 2 rows of shelve space for spring planting. This year it is reduced to a few end caps and 1/4 of shelve spacing. Sporting goods guns and ammo section of the store is busy place. All Buckshot, 9MM, 5.56, .223, .45 is wiped out. All powder is wiped out, all bullets gone. Surprised to see a decent stock of .308 and some random 30-06. Hand gun counter is stacked daily. 3-4 citizens at the counter going through background check/process of purchasing.Rifles are 50% stocked. Previous stocked AR style weapons were cleaned out judging from the 3 remaining black rifles in stock. M1A and M14 rifles that were previous in stock were gone as well majority of the .22 rifles. Mags and AR accessories virtually wiped out. Interesting observations is people watching. The cool hombre’s walking the isles are prepped I’d assume and browsing item availability (scrounging). Have seen plenty of “wide eyed” buyers and damn glad I am not one of those individuals.
Thank you for your continuing reports! I plan on doing another scouting trip out this weekend and will have another post going up. God Bless brother!