How to Prepare for a Coronavirus Quarantine by Daisy Luther for The Organic Prepper
All over the world, people are in quarantine at their homes due to Covid19, a coronavirus that has infected tens of thousands. Some are in quarantine voluntarily – either they’ve recently returned from a place where the virus is widespread or they feel that social distancing is a good idea for them. Others are in mandatory quarantines enforced by local governments.
Either way, the basics are the same. I’ve gotten lots of questions about preparing for the possibility of a quarantine, so I wanted to address the basics. This article is written with the non-prepper in mind, so if you’re new to the preparedness world, you’re in the right place. This is a very basic primer. If you want to get more into the specifics of preparing for this particular virus and outbreak, check out this book.
What is quarantine?
First things first, we’ll go over some of the rules of quarantine.
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The main rule is, nobody comes in and nobody goes out. If you are in quarantine, you are distancing yourself from people aside from the ones in quarantine with you, like your family or roommates. The reason for this is to stop the spread of an illness or possible illness.
Either…
- You have it and you don’t want others to get it
- You’ve been exposed to it and don’t know if you have it but you don’t want to spread it in case you do
- You want to avoid catching the illness and you don’t know who has it so you’re staying away from everyone to avoid exposure
- You are under mandatory quarantine – the government has told you and possibly everyone else to stay home under penalty of law
It doesn’t really matter which of these reasons you’re in quarantine. The basics are the same.
Whatever supplies you start your quarantine period with will need to last you throughout the length of time you are unable to leave your home.
What supplies do you need to stock up on for a quarantine?
Let’s start with a very basic list and then I’ll go into more detail further on in the article. Imagine that right this minute, you had to stay home for a month. What would you need that you don’t already have?
- Food
- Water
- Medications
- Personal hygiene items
- Sanitation and cleaning supplies
- Pet supplies
- Special needs supplies (for babies or elderly family members, for example)
- Entertainment
You may have a lot of things on hand already or you may need to go buy things. Before you go spend a fortune on supplies, check to see what you already have. I know it’s nerve-wracking to wait when you feel like you need to get to the store RIGHT NOW, but it’s much better to spend your money wisely and see what gaps you need to fill, as opposed to getting duplicates of what you already have.
While the urge to just order everything online may be strong, it would be advisable to get as much as possible locally so that you can have it on hand without waiting. The emergency food I recommend is sold out of most things. In this article, you can find some emergency food buckets that are currently still available.
At the very least, grab supplies locally to meet your immediate needs. If you’ve waited too long and the shelves are nearly bare, here are some ideas for the last-minute shopper.
If you want a downloadable quarantine checklist, go here to sign up for my email list and get one absolutely free.
Now let’s look at each of these categories more closely.
Food and water for a quarantine
When you set out to purchase food for a potential quarantine, there are a few things to consider. One of these things is whether or not you expect to have power and running water throughout the event. There are a lot of variables (more on that in this article) but it’s advisable that you focus on non-perishable foods as much as possible.
