Are you prepared to go into lockdown mode if the Ebola virus begins to spread across the country?
Hopefully, fears of a possible Ebola pandemic are exaggerated and being fanned by a government with an agenda and greedy pharmaceutical companies.
However…
Six people fell ill in New York City and are being tested for the virus. Paul Joseph Watson of Prison Planet wrote:
“In an apparent attempt to avoid hysteria, U.S. health authorities are withholding details about a number of suspected Ebola victims from the public.” (source)
With something that displays itself as gruesomely as Ebola, with seizures and uncontrollable bleeding from every orifice, it’s unrealistic to think that a cover-up can last long. If this continues to spread, there’s no way that the government can keep it under wraps. In a place as populated as NYC, there’s no telling how many people the possible victims have come into contact with. This is NOT going to be easy to contain. The virus is spreading far more rapidly than it has in the past in West Africa, giving some people reason to believe it has mutated into something more easily transmissible.
This reminds me of that scene in the movie Contagion, where the CDC experts have their quiet, closed-door meetings and discuss preventing a panic. (If you haven’t seen that movie lately, I suggest you watch it, perhaps with your older children, to open the discussion of how pandemics can spread rapidly.) In the movie, the officials seem almost more intent on keeping it quiet than they do on stopping the spread of the illness.
There are a lot of facts that are being kept quiet. The government seems really excited about producing an untested vaccine and jabbing us all with it. Because of this insistence on secrecy and the fact that you just can’t trust the government, you may not have a lot of warning before things get really bad. Consider this your warning. You need to be prepared to go into family lockdown mode for at least six weeks. Incidentally, this begs the question of why our government has not gone into a similar lockdown mode, instead of opening the floodgates for illegal immigrants and tourists from other countries during a global health crisis. (Here’s why I won’t be lining up to get an Ebola vaccine.)
How do you know when it’s time to go into lockdown?
Avoiding contact with people who have the illness is the only way to prevent getting it. Isolating yourselves is the best way to stay safe and healthy.
This is the tricky part: How do you know that the time has come to get the family inside and lock the doors behind you? Lizzie Bennett, a retired medical professional, wrote an incredibly helpful article over on her website Underground Medic. Definitely take the time to read the entire thing HERE, because this is one of the most blunt, honest things you will read from a person who worked in this field. Bennett recommends social distancing as the only effective way to protect yourself and your family from an outbreak of disease.
How long you should remain isolated depends primarily on where you live. For those in towns and cities it will be for much longer than those living in rural retreats where human contact is minimal. Though those fortunate enough to live in such surroundings should remember that if the situation is dire enough, people will leave the cities looking for safety in less populated areas. In large centres of population there will be more people moving around, legally or otherwise, each of these individuals represents a possible uptick in the disease rates, allowing the spread to continue longer than it would have they stayed indoors and/or out of circulation. Even when the initial phase is on the wane, or has passed through an area, people travelling into that area can bring it back with them triggering a second wave of disease as people are now emerging from their isolation…
…
One hundred miles is my buffer zone for disease, of course it could already be in my city, but practicalities dictate that I will not stay away from people because hundreds in Europe are dropping like flies. Maps of disease spread look like a locust swarm moving across the country and this allows disease spread to be tracked on an hour by hour basis. One of the few instances where mainstream media will be useful. (source)
Once you’ve gone into lockdown, how long you must stay there is dependent on the spread of the illness. Times will vary. Bennett suggests these guidelines:
Once the doors were locked we would stay there for at least two weeks after the last case within 100 miles is reported. A government all clear would be weighed against how long it had been since the last case was reported in the area I have designated as my buffer zone. There is of course still the chance that someone from outside the area will bring the disease in with them causing a second wave of illness. You cannot seal off cities to prevent this. Going out after self-imposed isolation should be kept to a minimum for as long as possible, and if you don’t have to, then don’t do it. Far better to let those that are comfortable being out and about get on with it and see if any new cases emerge before exposing yourself and your family to that possibility. (source)
What does it mean to go into lockdown?
This Ebola thing could go bad in a hurry. And by bad I mean that it has killed well over half of the people who’ve contracted it in West Africa. Not only do we have the possibility of Ebola to contend with, but several varieties of plague are also on the uptick over the past couple of months, something that has been put on the back burner due to the fear of Ebola. A city in China was locked down last week due to the Bubonic Plague and the Black Plague caused one man to die and 3 more people to become ill in Colorado last month.
If the situation hits close enough to home that you decide to go it’s time to isolate yourselves, the rules to this are intractable.
No one goes out. No one comes in.
I know this sounds harsh, but there are to be no exceptions. If you make exceptions, you might as well go wrestle with runny-nosed strangers at the local Wal-Mart and then come home and hug your children, because it’s the same thing.
Once you have gone into lockdown mode, that means that the supplies you have on hand are the supplies you have to see you through. You can’t run out to the store and get something you’ve forgotten.
That means if a family member shows up, they have to go into quarantine for at least 4 weeks, during which time they are not allowed access to the home or family, nor are they allowed to go out in public. Set up an area on your property that is far from your home for them to hang out for their month of quarantine. If at the end of the month they are presenting no symptoms, then they can come in.
It sadly means that you may be forced to turn someone away if they are ill, because to help them means to risk your family.
Now is the time to plan with your preparedness group how you intend to handle the situation. Will you shelter together, in the same location, and reserve a secondary location to retreat to if the situation worsens further or if someone becomes ill? Will you shelter separately because of the nature of the emergency? Decide together on what event and proximity will trigger you to go into lockdown mode. Make your plan and stick to it, regardless of pressure from those who think you are over-reacting, the school that your children have stopped attending, and any other external influences. If you’ve decided that there is a great enough risk that you need to go into lockdown, you must adhere to your plan.
Prepare an isolation area.
In the event that a member of your group becomes ill, they need to immediately be quarantined from the rest of the group. By the time they’re showing symptoms, it could be too late to prevent the spread of illness but effort should still be taken to isolate them.
Here are some tips on isolating a patient.
- The sick room should be sealed off from the rest of the house. Use a heavy tarp over the doorway to the room on the inside and the outside. This will make a small breezeway for the caretaker to go in and out.
- The caretaker should cover up with disposable clothing, gloves, shoe covers, and hair covers.
- The caretaker should wear an N95 mask.
- The sick person should use disposable dishes and cutlery. All garbage from the sick room should be placed in a heavy garbage bag and burned outdoors immediately.
- The sick person should not leave the room. If there is not a bedroom with a connected bathroom, a bathroom setup should be created within the room. Great care must be taken with the disposal of this waste.
You can learn more about preparing a sick room HERE.
Do you have the supplies you need to weather a pandemic?
It’s time to do a last minute check of your preps because by the time a general quarantine is announced in your area or you hear the mainstream suggesting that people should stay home, it will be too late to get the rest of your supplies. As well, at that point, the path of the pandemic will have progressed so much it will be unsafe to do so.
You need to be prepared to go into family lockdown mode for a minimum of 6 weeks should things get bad in your area, and preferably longer than that in the event that this takes a long time to contain. It’s most likely that services such as public water and electricity will remain intact, but you should prepare as though they won’t be, just in case.
Here’s a quick checklist along with some links to resources. Base amounts on the number of family members you’ll be sheltering.
- Drinking water (1 gallon per person per day)
- Food (including items that don’t require fuel for preparation)
- Heavy duty garbage bags
- Sanitation supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene supplies)
- Entertainment – you’ll want to be able to keep children and restless family members busy so get craft supplies, books, games, and puzzles
- Basic medical supplies (here’s a list)
- Pandemic kits that contain protective clothing (we have a QuakeKare Deluxe Pandemic Flu Kit
for each family member) - Extra N95 masks (3M 1860 Health Care N95 Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask, Small Adult, 20/Bx)
- Nitrile gloves (Dynarex Black Nitrile Exam Gloves, Heavy-Duty, Powder Free, Large, Box/100)
- Safety goggles with an elastic band to ensure a snug fit (Pyramex V2G Safety Eyewear, Clear Anti-Fog Lens With Black Strap/Temples)
- Antibacterial cleaners such as disposable wipes, bleach, and spray cleaners
- Antibacterial hand sanitizer (Purell Pump Bottle, Original, 8 Ounce (Pack of 12))
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)Note – we do not commonly use anti-bacterial products but in a situation like this, it’s important to have this type of thing on hand in the event that there are issues with sanitation
Related:
Here’s why I won’t be lining up to get an Ebola vaccine
Books and Reference Materials:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster
The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months
Daisy,
This is a timely article with excellent suggestions to prepare for a pandemic.
Thank you!
KY Mom
Mutation? Me thinks probably not. This Ebola is *very* different from the last large outbreak **in Africa.** The TPTB decided to fly the sick all over the globe. What medical protocol would encourage that, especially for this disease?
I recommend _The Hot Zone_ by Preston.
While it certainly can turn into an uglier problem than it already is, there is probably more to the story that what we are being told.
Before “Contagion” there was The “Andromeda Strain.” I believe there is something called predictive programming. I wonder if it applies here?
All of your plans are sound. However, if “they” cannot leave cannot small farms alone, or any of the other lifestyle choices that were not only common during my youth, but encouraged, what makes anyone think they will let us “slug it out” on our own?
As an aside, during WW2 the German blockade caused severe shortages for the UK. The government solution was total control over everything. They controlled the farms including crops and animals, and when they didn’t produce properly and get “a good grade” they were confiscated by the govt. They controlled everything. This included food, clothing, shoes, fats, etc. The lists were long. An interesting example is how many buttons could be used on a garment.
This quote is contributed to FDR: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
Dang, you don’t follow Jon Rappoport’s Blog at all, do you?
http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/is-this-really-why-ebola-health-workers-are-collapsing/
The “no one comes in part sounds good” but seriously, its as though its a set up, yes.
SARS, bird flue, and others that don’t immediately come to mind were serious health threats according to the government, and mainstream media. It will be interesting to see how many people remember what ebola was a year from now when the nest big pandemic is in the news.
If they had Internet in the dark ages, it would have been filled with ‘sceptics’ that thought all this fuss about the bubonic plague was just a gross overreaction.
This is the kind of thing were the government comes door to door and takes people to so called quarantined areas to house them.
I am a great proponent of contingency planning and recognize how important it is to share such information with others to provide guidance on how to be aware and prepared. At this time however, I feel it is very important for various communities to take a deep breath and resist the temptation to fall into states of anxiety. The unfolding medical emergency in West Africa is certainly troubling and the best information available from those on the ground suggest in all likelihood many more infections and deaths will be reported in that region. This is indeed a human tragedy for those affected and an international crisis in West Africa but it is not global pandemic. Indeed from what I understand, the virus does not appear to have “broken” out of the region and hospital emergency rooms throughout Europe, The United States or other OEDC states are not reporting sharp increases in individuals presenting with Ebola like conditions. So, while it is good to “keep your ear to the ground” at this point the old British Ministry of Information slogan “keep calm and carry on” need apply.
Reminder: our US borders are wide open. Think and reason and come to a logical conclusion.
ALL disease these days IS MAN MADE!!!! FACT, colloidal silver is THE ONLY antidote for all of them, it kills all bacteria and virus and these bacteria and virus will not survive in you if you have taken a steady does for about 6 months or so. My family takes it a few times a week, NEVER get sick and feel young and strong!! It has been known for thousands of years.
Disease is caused by bacteria. Bacteria comes from various sources, including various plants, animals and even the soil. Viruses (which Ebola is) are more likely to be possible engineered with, but most viruses (including Ebola) have been around for centuries. New strains just don’t pop into existence.
Supposed to read people liberals and preached. Sometimes I think liberals invented spell checker just so they could torment people with it:):)
It’s those who prepare for the worst are the ones who survive. As soon as the first case is announced in Australia. My family will be in lockdown also & already now getting our emergency supplies. Because it’s not worth risking, the fact it lives in the body for 21 days without showing any symptoms has put us on edge. Still confused with only a 10% survival & no vaccine, why hasn’t our government stopped travel to & from these infected zones. Scary
I love reading your blog, but I’ve never felt compelled to say anything until now.
I’m just wondering about the self quarantine. I’m still a bit fuzzy about when to go into lock down. Also, I keep thinking, I’d probably look like an idiot to many people if I were to do so, which I could live with. What I can’t live with, is the possibility of me losing my job if I were to stay home so long. I consider it a legitimate absence, but they may not. It is made worse that I actually work in a grocery store so I am in close contact with hundreds of people daily! Is there any legal precedent for these types of things?
The key phrase here is what you could live with. Especially with you working in a grocery store. If you do not quarentine yourself you might not live to worry about it. I suppose you could start out with wearing gloves and a mask at work at the first mention of the possibility of someone being infected in your are making sure to take off your clothes upon arrival at and before entering your home into a bleach solution then laundering them. There is still a risk there but it would still be lessened if you dont feel you can miss work until the last possible moment. This disease scares the bejeebers out of us. We are in the cleaning business and we are involved with cleaning up after people. We are soon going to go to gloves and mask at work.
This is an interesting article, thank you for sharing this. With respect to quarantining people within your family, there isn’t a lot of use to separating that symptomatic person from the rest of the family. This separation is only useful for larger groups that don’t uniformly contact each other. By the time the person shows symptoms from Ebola they have already been infectious for 2-3 days, so people in close contact with them (living in the same isolation zone) are already infected. It is important to maintain isolation between your family group from the general public at this time. In the nuclear family isolation setting, it would be better to comfort your loved ones in their last days rather than hermetically seal the sick individual in plastic for the last days – weeks of your lives together.
Something very strange is going on here in Europe. There appears a report, riddled with typo’s, about possible ebola victims in Spain, Belgium and Germany, then just a few hours later it ‘suddenly’ turns out they have stomach flu. We are told that Ebola only has a miscroscopic chance of ever appearing here in the Netherlands (let’s all just ignore that ginormous harbor over there in Rotterdam, mkay?), yet you can’t set foot on Schiphol airport without someone pointing an infrared feverdetector at your face.
This does not bode well.
the german un worker died today (14th oct) and as far as i know the spanish nurse is still in treatment, but alive.
the UK introduced their “ebola screening” at international airports today, using ear thermometers!!! (really???!!!), and it is “optional” ,which means basically no one bothered doing the screening and just went on their merry way!!!
this is after a politician admitted in an interview the screening is useless anyway but at least it makes it “look” like they are doing something, which people find reassuring!
We’re screwed!!!
Ebola should be treated with fine droplet precautions. Please! No spray cleaners inside the sick room.
Why a N95 and not a P100?, they cost about the same and seems to be a better option
Daisy, here’s a cheaper site for the N95 Particle Respirator 8200 masks http://www.walmart.com/ip/RESPIRATOR-N95-PARTCLE-WE/32506414
Now that Ebola has surfaced in Dallas, I wonder how many of the naysayers are rethinking their earlier assessments. As I am located just under 300 miles from Dallas, I am keeping a sharp eye on how things progress!
Is this the answer the unsistainale rate of growth? Is that why its a wide open travel? an no ban. How can I save my kids?