With all the news out there about COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus, I figured it was about time we addressed the news out there with some commonsense. West Survival Gear’s mission is and has always been to prepare REAL PEOPLE for disasters, incidents, and the ugly unavoidable situations that life throws at us, regardless of your budget, political stance, or belief that the world might end with a brand new reason every June.

As you can see, hear, and feel from nearly every news media agency; we have a brand new reason. If you try to read between the lines of what the news is selling, COVID-19 is going to kill you. If it is not going to kill you, it is going to kill your grandma, and it is too late to stop it. Let us pause for a moment on that though. COVID-19 DOES NOT HAVE TO SPREAD ANY FURTHER. Let me repeat, COVID-19 does not have to spread any further.

Reality is starting to show us a pattern, and a few facts are emerging that are important, but that also help us to prevent a wider and worse disaster from occurring. We need to talk about some of these facts first, then we can talk about what we – as a survival-oriented community can do to help our fellow man.

• COVID-19 is currently showing as more deadly than the seasonal flu
• COVID-19 has separate and distinct symptoms from the seasonal flu and other related illnesses
• COVID-19 is not a magical supervirus, there are ways to prevent the spread, and prevent yourself from being infected
• Pallets of Toilet Paper and Cases of Bottled Water will not keep you from getting sick
• Ignoring this and pretending it is not important, and/or is not threatening you is just plain dumb
• Overpreparing is harmful to our society and preparing wrong is harmful to our society

Now that we have addressed some facts let us look at some solutions. First, we have to respect this virus. We have to be intelligent about our approach. Staying healthy is important, but sometimes seasonal sicknesses are unavoidable. One way that we have seen evidence as working to prevent this is a simple thing, social distancing. It is showing progress in countries where they are forcing it. If you live in the United States, be smart. Don’t wait until the government forces it, do it now.

• Don’t travel long distances. Avoid airplanes, cruise ships, and even trains. If you travel, go by car, and keep your distance from unknown people.
• Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize. Hand sanitizer works. Keep some handy, especially if you are on a road trip. Sanitize after touching gas pumps, money, people, etc.
• Social Distancing. Simple. Don’t go to concerts. Don’t go to parades. Don’t go to big gathers. Don’t go to parties. Eat at home. It is not forever. When this virus is burned out it is burned out. Let us not make this a seasonal thing.
• If you buy 700 rolls of toilet paper you are breaking the supply chain system. You don’t need them. Instead of buying ten giant twenty packs when you usually buy one, buy two. Leave some for other people. They won’t do you any good.
• Don’t pretend this isn’t happening and just do whatever you feel like. If you are sick, stay at home. If you are out, avoid sick people. Simple as that.
• Be prepared, but prepare reasonably. Have some extra food at home. Have food to cook at home. Don’t worry that your water is going to get shut off, or that you’ll get infected via the water supply. This isn’t a chemical hazard.

The biggest appear here is to please, please, please be reasonable. Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Safeway, Kroger, all seem to be running low on toilet paper and bottled water. Don’t. Just don’t. Don’t starve to death so you can wipe your butt. Be prepared the right way. Don’t stock up on stupid things. Get the things you really need. All the toilet paper and water in the world isn’t going to save you if you don’t follow some simple good sense, like social distancing.

Thanks for listening to my rant, and be safe out there. Oh, by the way – if you are running low on toilet paper, we are sponsoring a local store in Grand Junction, Colorado. It’s kind of a silly thing, but hey -if there is any way we can give back to the community, we will. If you shop at Toasted Pixie, at 145 N. 4th Street, in downtown Grand Junction, CO we will give you a free roll of toilet paper with every purchase, sponsored by West Survival Gear. If you don’t need it, don’t take it, but if you do – we are glad to share it. If you don’t see anything you like at the store – just ask, and we’ll give you a roll.

Best Regards,

Brian M Kennedy, WSG