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| Don’t Overdo the Coronavirus Stockpiling | Don’t Overdo the Coronavirus Stockpiling |
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| Grocery store shelves have been cleaned out, despite the fact that there is currently no lack of food in the country. Although the empty shelves may look worrisome, there is no need to grab that last box of keto pea protein linguine if it’s not something you already eat. | Grocery store shelves have been cleaned out, despite the fact that there is currently no lack of food in the country. Although the empty shelves may look worrisome, there is no need to grab that last box of keto pea protein linguine if it’s not something you already eat. |
| Panic-buying every jar of pasta sauce in the store may also affect those who don’t have the means or the space to stockpile, in particular people who don’t have the financial ability to spend hundreds of dollars on groceries at once. “That is probably about half of us, especially during this time when many of us are not working or can’t work, with limited incomes or no incomes coming in,” said Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California. “The last thing a family in that situation can do is go out and spend $500 on groceries.” | Panic-buying every jar of pasta sauce in the store may also affect those who don’t have the means or the space to stockpile, in particular people who don’t have the financial ability to spend hundreds of dollars on groceries at once. “That is probably about half of us, especially during this time when many of us are not working or can’t work, with limited incomes or no incomes coming in,” said Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California. “The last thing a family in that situation can do is go out and spend $500 on groceries.” |
| Here are tips on how to shop for food responsibly, without overstocking your bunker. | Here are tips on how to shop for food responsibly, without overstocking your bunker. |
| It’s scary to see your local grocery store completely emptied of supplies, but fight the urge to panic by looking at what has happened in other places. Although there have been reports of food shortages in Wuhan, China, one of the first cities to be locked down, grocery stores remain open in Italy, France, and California, where people are being asked to shelter in place. | It’s scary to see your local grocery store completely emptied of supplies, but fight the urge to panic by looking at what has happened in other places. Although there have been reports of food shortages in Wuhan, China, one of the first cities to be locked down, grocery stores remain open in Italy, France, and California, where people are being asked to shelter in place. |
| Though bare shelves may make food feel scarce, remind yourself that this shortage is temporary. Before you buy your 20th can of beans, consider the person behind you who can buy only a little at a time, whether because of financial or space constraints. “I think this is a rare situation where we’re going to have to walk into the store and say, Do I need this more than the next person who might be coming down this aisle?” said Nathan Novemsky, professor of marketing and psychology at Yale University. | Though bare shelves may make food feel scarce, remind yourself that this shortage is temporary. Before you buy your 20th can of beans, consider the person behind you who can buy only a little at a time, whether because of financial or space constraints. “I think this is a rare situation where we’re going to have to walk into the store and say, Do I need this more than the next person who might be coming down this aisle?” said Nathan Novemsky, professor of marketing and psychology at Yale University. |
| Food assistance programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), allow participants to buy only items that are eligible, so by avoiding those things, you’ll be helping people in your community who have limited choices. | Food assistance programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), allow participants to buy only items that are eligible, so by avoiding those things, you’ll be helping people in your community who have limited choices. |
| “Presuming you get sick and all your family’s going to be quarantined, then only that amount of food is what you need, and any more than that is probably going to end up being wasted,” said Dr. Ritchie. The C.D.C. currently recommends having a two-week supply of food and knowing how to get food delivered, if that’s possible where you live. | “Presuming you get sick and all your family’s going to be quarantined, then only that amount of food is what you need, and any more than that is probably going to end up being wasted,” said Dr. Ritchie. The C.D.C. currently recommends having a two-week supply of food and knowing how to get food delivered, if that’s possible where you live. |
| And hold on tight to that advice, because the desire to overbuy may actually increase over the next few weeks. “The psychological panic buying is in its infancy compared to where it’s going to reach when people start to feel the effects of the virus around them,” said Dr. Novemsky. | And hold on tight to that advice, because the desire to overbuy may actually increase over the next few weeks. “The psychological panic buying is in its infancy compared to where it’s going to reach when people start to feel the effects of the virus around them,” said Dr. Novemsky. |
| Dig through the back of your pantry and the corners of your freezer — how many half-full bags of pasta and frozen broccoli do you have? If you’re going to be stuck at home with more time on your hands, this is a good moment to experiment. | Dig through the back of your pantry and the corners of your freezer — how many half-full bags of pasta and frozen broccoli do you have? If you’re going to be stuck at home with more time on your hands, this is a good moment to experiment. |
| Cooking with constraints is how some of the world’s best dishes were created, said Tamar Adler, host of the Food Actually podcast on Luminary and author of “An Everlasting Meal: Cooking With Economy and Grace.” “Some of the most delicious things seem to be created by having to make food out of what is left,” she said in a phone interview, citing now-fancy dishes that use ingredients that would have been thrown away, like bouillabaisse (a French seafood soup) and ribollita (an Italian soup that uses up stale bread and beans). Anybody can make something taste good when they have top-shelf ingredients at their disposal. But Ms. Adler praises “being able to make the best of stuff that is often ignored, like the stale bread and bones, and this is the perfect time to be doing that.” | Cooking with constraints is how some of the world’s best dishes were created, said Tamar Adler, host of the Food Actually podcast on Luminary and author of “An Everlasting Meal: Cooking With Economy and Grace.” “Some of the most delicious things seem to be created by having to make food out of what is left,” she said in a phone interview, citing now-fancy dishes that use ingredients that would have been thrown away, like bouillabaisse (a French seafood soup) and ribollita (an Italian soup that uses up stale bread and beans). Anybody can make something taste good when they have top-shelf ingredients at their disposal. But Ms. Adler praises “being able to make the best of stuff that is often ignored, like the stale bread and bones, and this is the perfect time to be doing that.” |
| She recommends being flexible with substitutes, mixing different dried grains into savory porridge or making pastry dough out of whatever flour or fat you have on hand. “I’m looking at my half-empty jars of jam, and so I’m going to try to make hand pies,” she says. | She recommends being flexible with substitutes, mixing different dried grains into savory porridge or making pastry dough out of whatever flour or fat you have on hand. “I’m looking at my half-empty jars of jam, and so I’m going to try to make hand pies,” she says. |
| Updated June 24, 2020 | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| New York Times Cooking has plenty of pantry recipes that can be made with the staples you probably already have at home. If you do have time to make it out to the store — and your store is stocked — here’s what you should buy. | New York Times Cooking has plenty of pantry recipes that can be made with the staples you probably already have at home. If you do have time to make it out to the store — and your store is stocked — here’s what you should buy. |
| Even though a food shortage may not be real, a volunteer-labor shortage and an influx of newly unemployed people have caused problems at food distribution organizations. Organizations often have annual fund-raisers, which may be canceled or postponed as people practice social distancing. Consider donating generously to food banks and other charities this year if you are able. (Wirecutter has more ways you can help your community while keeping everyone healthy.) | Even though a food shortage may not be real, a volunteer-labor shortage and an influx of newly unemployed people have caused problems at food distribution organizations. Organizations often have annual fund-raisers, which may be canceled or postponed as people practice social distancing. Consider donating generously to food banks and other charities this year if you are able. (Wirecutter has more ways you can help your community while keeping everyone healthy.) |
| If you aren’t in a position to donate money, you can also donate time safely. “The food banks, your local food pantry, are experiencing shortages of people to work and put packages of food together. Often that can happen in a safe way with social distancing,” Dr. Ritchie said. | If you aren’t in a position to donate money, you can also donate time safely. “The food banks, your local food pantry, are experiencing shortages of people to work and put packages of food together. Often that can happen in a safe way with social distancing,” Dr. Ritchie said. |
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| A version of this article appears at Wirecutter.com. | A version of this article appears at Wirecutter.com. |