Just don't go outside? I don't mean to be snarky here, but yeah...just don't leave the house. Don't take deliveries either. Eat your current cupboards empty. Leave all rice, pasta and dried beans until the very end.

*Disclaimer: take the following diatribe for what you will. I post it knowing that I'm going to be shreaded here for it, but it's just the facts of the moment as best as I know them. I only give (1) real suggestion as I Rich G the chit outta this post. I'm leaving politics out of it on purpose. If this helps one person in anyway, great. If not, that's ok too and to each his own.

Here we go...

Most Americans have more food than they think at home and eat more than they really need to survive. Humans can typically go 30 days or so without food and 7 or so without water. 40% are obese and a little fasting wouldn't hurt. If you have pets, buy LOTS of pet food NOW. In an emergency situation, they simply can't be allowed to eat human food rations. Additionally, pet food by federal law has to be 100% human consumable for this very situation. It's gross, but a 50 pound bag of cheap kibble will last a LONG time. It's super high in fat and pretty digestible. Most pet food comes out of China. For cost reasons, a good portion of our meat products (chicken, pork specifically) are SENT to China from the US for processing and then the finished product is sent back to the US. Think about that. I'll touch on this below.

Most people don't get to telecommute or are retired - they have to go to work to earn a living. 1 out of every 10 US jobs is somehow tied to the travel industry which is now dead. Small businesses, travel, food & hospitality, entertainment events make up most American jobs. Think of the amount of federal & state government employees there are and what essential services they provide. Think of the healthcare industry jobs and workers. Tech companies are stopping all non-essential travel IN the US, not just overseas. I work at one of the largest multi-national companies in the world. I'm privy to some of what they are already thinking and planning for behind the scenes (disaster recovery). I received the work email yesterday telling all employees who are sick or have family members who are sick, to stay home and self quarantine for the next 21 days. Everyone is now allowed to WFH if they want just outta precaution. All non-essential travel is not allowed world-wide without VP authorization (good luck). At any given moment, this company normally has ~25,000 employees traveling WW. That stopped yesterday.

The global supply chain (my industry) is grinding to a halt. The bottom is falling out of quarterly earnings. Longbeach, our #1 products port out of Asia is dead and Longshoremen are going home. Big tankers are just sitting offshore empty with no plans to go back (they go back loaded with raw materials to make new products). It takes 12 - 16 weeks for the typical product to arrive from China via Ocean freight. Guangdong Port is dead. They're actually sailing empty tankers back home. More tankers with replacement products are NOT coming. Amazon is pulling products left and right due to unavailability. There's already panic buying at Costco and Sam's Club. Freeze dried food has tripled in price over night. Toilet paper going like hotcakes (see Hawaii). 80% of our medication comes from China. Chinese Lunar New Year is a month long celebration and ALL work stops (product inventories were already low + lingering trade war effects) - then this hit. News is that China manufacturers are in such bad shape, they're FORCING people to go back to work to fill those tankers up. China outbreak #2 is about to happen.

SOME people think it should all be about "the people" and "screw these companies" BUT these companies make the things for people to live and survive in a global economy. You simply must have factories open to make food and wages in order to buy said food with those said wages to survive. The global supply chain is like an aircraft carrier. It just can't simply turn around on a dime back into positive territory overnight. Product supply is going to take MONTHS to recover if not MUCH longer and it really hasn't even "hit" the world and America yet in pandemic form. In other words, what we have here now is about all we are going to have here for sometime.

The Fed's have more or less "nationalized" some health safety equipment / PPE manufactures (masks, gloves, suits). They've "moved" themselves to the very top of open PO's.

I have not factored Mexico - which in and of itself is a powder keg of epic pandemic proportions for the obvious reasons. We get a ton of fresh food and products of all types from Mexico. A "run for the boarder" for US healthcare indeed.

The old rule of thumb is 72 hours. Our modern society is about 72 hours away from pure anarchy at any given moment. 72 hours is 9 standard meals which everyone in America believes just magically happens and is guaranteed as a right.

The global equation: Dead economy + dead companies + dead jobs = NO FOOD & HEALTH CARE. No food + no healthcare = anarchy.

Whether you believe in any of this or not, it no longer matters. Others do and are taking their own appropriate steps. Only one person in the US has died and it's already like this. It hasn't even hit yet! The cat is outta the bag regardless if it ever really spreads here. The next 2 weeks will tell the tale here in the states if it spreads or not. Two week's from this next Tuesday.

I'm fun at parties.