You think this is a supply problem? Your ability to see things and come to the complete opposite conclusion never fails to amaze me SS

I am interested to hear what steps your employers have taken during this crisis.

Mine has always provided the capability to work from home. Recently a check was made by our I.T. guy that everybody had fully functioning kit located in the best possible environment. Being a small company of <20 employees this wasn't too onerous.

The decision to close the office and work from home until further notice was made last Tuesday.

Contrast that with my partners employers, a CHINESE bank in the City.

No working from home capability
Most of the Chinese staff have bailed out with even the slightest hint of a cough, leaving local staff to run the back office
Senior Chinese boss insisting that some of those off sick return to the office ( against the banks stated policy )
Senior Chinese boss displaying all the symptoms of having the virus but continuing to work
No meaningful attempt to make the working environment safer via distancing

And the icing on the cake - the remaining Chinese women in the office, including that senior manager, have been observed still not washing their hands after using the toilet ( they never do ) despite what's going on.

Rudi, we were told by our local ASDA's that they are getting on average 2 deliveries a day & that the BEST time to go instore is probably around 4pm. Its a lot quieter & you have more chance of stuff you need without the hoards of selfish people to contend with.

I started building a reserve supply about six or seven years ago. Essentially I aimed to have three weeks worth but in reality I think I went beyond that.

If you have massive freezers then that's obviously useful but I just have one normal sized one.....if something really bad occurred you'd need your own electric supply to run them anyway.

Water, tinned food...What to store for long term is a detailed subject and each person's approach will differ depending upon how much they want to spend on it...Obviously you look for long life foods that don't go off....Honey never goes off and can just sit on the shelf, sugar, alcohol, soy (I obviously refuse to stock that ) certain biscuits, rice, pasta....but as with the last two you start requiring heated water....having vital vitamin supplements is never a bad idea as well.

Rotation is an obvious requirement and that's just the food and water stuff. But once it's all in place you have some peace of mind that you could be reasonably self reliant for a period.

The madness we are seeing in the supermarkets shows us just how tenuous civilisation actually is once supplies run out.

Thankfully this supply problem is a blip and the system will and is adjusting......This virus is damaging but a lot of people are over-reacting to it.

Edited by Stirlingsays (21 Mar 2020 11.09am)

Some of us are still waiting to hear from Dan.....we already know you can do snide remarks...what's your take?