DON’T HOARD! State Health Department’s plea

(Roxbury Safeway this morning – photo by Tamsen Spengler)

A plea late today from the state Health Department, in this news release:

The COVID-19 pandemic may have you rushing to the store to stock up on hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and other supplies.

But before you sweep the store aisles clean of these items, you might want to remind yourself of the harm you’re causing to yourself and your community by overstocking. The more you overstock those supplies, the less is available for your sick neighbors, and for doctors, dentists, and emergency response personnel. Doing our part to keep vulnerable people healthy includes making sure they have access to necessary supplies.

Grocers say consumer overstocking – not a disrupted supply chain — is the main reason their store shelves are empty of many supplies and food items, especially hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, toilet paper, and plastic gloves.

“We want the public to be assured that if they will return to their normal pace of grocery shopping that there will be an adequate supply of products for their consumption,” said Jan Gee, president and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association and its educational foundation. “We also want the public to be assured of the fact that the grocery stores are taking extensive measures to reduce any opportunity for contamination in our stores, and with the public’s cooperation, we will continue to provide a clean, virus-free environment stocked with healthy and fresh foods for everyone.”

Some consumers also seem to perceive a need to stock up on certain items such as bottled water. Health officials say water supplies are fine. Health experts emphasize the best way to protect yourself from infection is through good hygiene and limiting contact with others, not by overstocking certain supplies.

Remember:

Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds multiple times a day is the best way to reduce your risk of infection. Hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol is recommended if you aren’t able to wash your hands with soap and water.
Try to stay six feet away from others, and stay away from others in larger social gatherings.
Regularly disinfect surfaces in your home and workspace.
Stay home if you’re sick.
Don’t buy more supplies than you absolutely need.
We all want to stay healthy and reduce the risk of infection for ourselves and others in our community. Help do your part by only buying what you need, and leave some for your neighbors.

DOH has established a call center to address questions from the public. If you have questions about what is happening in Washington state please call 800-525-0127 and press #.

48 Replies to "DON'T HOARD! State Health Department's plea"

  • Mj March 14, 2020 (7:17 pm)

    Not even a broken egg left at Admiral Safeway this evening.  There is no need to hoard, and TP of all things.  

    • J March 15, 2020 (12:20 pm)

      I recommend spending some time online reading and studying history. What did people use for toilet paper before it was commercially produced? Toilet paper is a recent thing for humanity. Think through the safest way of disposing of or washing whatever could be used, don’t clog your toilet, wash your hands and surfaces, try not to contaminate surroundings with bodily waste. We may be forced to look to history and be creative. Supply chains are fragile, and we have obviously outsourced too much, those buy local folks tried to warn us. I hope we will all recognize that in the end. Modern city dwellers have not had to think this way before… This actually is a state of emergency, and some of us will not make it out alive, but if we don’t hoard, get practical, learn and grow, most of us will make it to the other side of this pandemic. Once again- read up on some history- you’ve got time now.

  • Chill March 14, 2020 (8:12 pm)

    It shows the lack of control the public feels, this is instinctive animal behavior plain and simple.  We better hope it doesn’t progress to the next level of animal behavior.  

  • Scubafrog March 14, 2020 (8:25 pm)

    It’s quite immature.  I hope our neighbors who’re hoarding TP/Groceries seek therapists after this blows over, that kind of behavior (feeling a need to take back control in a life where have none) is something that should be addressed, particularly when it affects themselves and others.  I’d say hoarding all the TP/groceries in the entire Seattle area affects themselves and others.Let’s take a deeeeeeep breath hoarders.  And donate some of that stuff to the West Seattle food bank, to people who’re homeless and starving.  Thenksssssssss

  • zephyr March 14, 2020 (8:29 pm)

    My third try at posting this………………………………………………………………What I don’t understand is why aren’t the stores enforcing limits or quotas on these high-demand items?   If they permit these hoarding purchases, then they are a part of the problem. 

    • Scubafrog March 15, 2020 (6:53 pm)

      Such a good question Zephyr.  One perhaps slated for stores’ managements.  I indeed mean to ask the same question.  I haven’t bought any tp, and was told by a leading virologist that simply washing my hands with soap and water that it’s “Much more effective than any hand sanitizer”.  I don’t know the psychology behind hoarding.  Very sad.  I think I know the psychology behind stores letting them do it:  $ greed.

  • Carole March 14, 2020 (8:30 pm)

    It’s way past time for stores to institute limits.  No one needs a grocery cart full of tp.  Or cleaning products. 

  • NW March 14, 2020 (8:36 pm)

    I was just at the admiral safeway unfortunate people are this way. 

  • LAH March 14, 2020 (8:51 pm)

    I completely agree with Carole and Zephyr; the stores can and should be trying to restrict the number of items being purchased.  

    • Andy March 14, 2020 (9:41 pm)

      There were signs up at target saying they were limiting purchases of TP/wipes/water. 

    • Bill March 15, 2020 (1:02 am)

      All these comments so far are right on — a lot of people are abject fools — they really cannot be helped!  Actually (I have seen similar situations before) in a couple of weeks – not all at once — as the supplies get replenished the prices will be 20-40% higher and they will never go back down! — gotta buck up that stock market kiddies!

  • miws March 14, 2020 (9:02 pm)

    Just for the record, I’ve been reading/hearing of stores finally instituting limits, including firsthand accounts from the stores themselves in emails and such. Also, the worst (in personal character) hoarders, IMHO, are the ones like in a link a WSB reader provided in another thread where these two brothers in Chatanooga Tennessee drove all over buying up sanitizer and masks, and such, some cheaply at dollar stores, then sold it online in many cases severely gouging their customers. The one guy used the lame excuse of how much it cost him to ship the stuff since the sanitizer is considered “hazardous material” and subject to those shipping laws. Apparently, Amazon cut him off from selling stuff, so now he has a bunch of sanitizer he can’t sell. —Mike

    • ACG March 14, 2020 (10:45 pm)

      I read that article too. Made me so mad. 

  • Nicole March 14, 2020 (9:03 pm)

    Costco has limits on all these products.  Generally 2 per membership.  Seems reasonable to me!

  • Maria M. March 14, 2020 (9:04 pm)

    “Store a 2-week supply of water and food” is the  first recommendation on the ready.gov/pandemic website.  Likewise, the CDC recommends “a 2-week supply of prescription and over the counter medications, food and other essentials” on its How To Prepare for Coronavirus webpage. And now we’re being told NOT to stock up because of the harm to our community by the State Health Dept. Until the experts can provide trustworthy information I’ll continue to “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

    • Fred W March 15, 2020 (12:18 am)

      Ten packs of a dozen rolls of TP is hoarding.  If a person is going through 120 rolls in two weeks, they may need to consult a gastroenterologist.

    • AMD March 15, 2020 (4:15 am)

      We live in earthquake country.  Everyone should already have a two-week stash of emergency supplies.  Adding weeks onto your existing emergency stash when there are no issues with the supply chain is hoarding. I’m not trying to judge life choices, but I can’t think of a single household that goes through more than 6 rolls of toilet paper a week.  There is no way everyone needs 60 rolls of toilet paper to get through this.  Like the Grocers said…  the supply chain will be fine.  If you run out, just buy more.  In fact, shopping at a normal pace would help maintain the social distancing advice everyone seems to forget as soon as they walk into a grocery store because because there wouldn’t be such a pileup of hoarders.

  • Carole March 14, 2020 (9:05 pm)

    A friend in Arizona saw 2 women (one was about 90) blocking the Costco meat counter with carts and taking all the chicken.  That’s nuts.

  • Community Member March 14, 2020 (9:06 pm)

    But families are preparing to limit trips to the store by stocking up now on durable goods they will use during the next few months. Some people may be hoarding, but most are probably just doing exactly what Public Health has advised – thinking through what they need/want on hand to be able to practice social distancing with minimal store trips, and even further than that, what they would need/want to have on hand in case they get a fever and  the whole family responsibly home-quarantines for two weeks. .Instead of calling this “panic buying” or “hoarding”,  much of it is increased demand based on reasonable preparations, and I’d expect the grocery industry to be rushing to meet that demand before contagion rates double and quadruple rather than admonishing customers to “return to their normal grocery shopping pace.”  .And if there are products sitting on the grocery store shelves that need to be reserved for doctors’ offices and  emergency responders, please pull those items now, instead of leaving them on the shelf and then blaming shortages on families who buy them so they can follow Public Health advice to use hand sanitizers. Sure, there’s some hoarding, but mostly the Heath people has told everyone to use a product that they have to go buy, so they went and bought it.

    • KM March 14, 2020 (10:12 pm)

      But why stock up durable goods when you’ll have to return sooner for perishables? You can buy 3 months of toilet paper, but not 3 months of food (at least, I hope not health wise). People should pace themselves, period.

      • Community Member March 15, 2020 (7:20 am)

        Risk reduction doesn’t require total risk elimination. By stocking up early on durables, a family that includes high risk members could reduce their future exposures and interactions by, say, only having to go to the store for a few minutes weekly to purchase a few perishables. Much lower exposure risk than, say, an earlier routine of running out to the store several times weekly,  or routinely stopping on the way home from work.

        • Jethro Marx March 15, 2020 (2:43 pm)

          Just because I’m a curious sort, how many rolls of toilet paper do have on hand right now? My family of four has maybe 7, but that’s a guess, because, you know, who cares as long as it’s at least 1-2? We will buy more when we’re low.  Feel free to answer as an order of magnitude, if that’s where you’re at.

          • sam-c March 15, 2020 (5:37 pm)

            Family of 4- we have about 28 rolls.  When we were down to ~6 a couple weeks ago, we picked up a 30 pack at Target (they were out of 4 or 8 packs- we prob would have gotten less if that were an option, due to the $$$).  Now that everyone will be home all day every day, we’ll start to go thru it a little faster.

  • Gina March 14, 2020 (9:08 pm)

    The toilet paper thing is happening everywhere. What is in human DNA to cause us to focus on gathering large amounts of t.p. instead of blankets or light bulbs?

  • ~Hockeywitch~ March 14, 2020 (9:27 pm)

    I am a high risk person (bronchiectasis, Asthma, Diabetes and MS). I depend on the grocery deliver services as I can’t get around easily, let alone get groceries up to my apartment on my own. I live by myself and have no one to help me… I tried to do a regular weekly shopping list yesterday and because of all the PANIC buying, I couldn’t even get my order to go through.. and the one that would go through, delivery was pushed so far out. I didn’t even order TP, because I still have some and I’M NOT INSANE… Please be aware of the elderly who may not be able to get out to a store and people like myself that can’t either.. we need things as well.. Stop being so greedy.

  • Bradley March 14, 2020 (9:41 pm)

    I was able to buy a pack of toilet paper at the Roxbury Safeway last night. They had about 30 packs but I only bought ONE. The supply chains AREN’T disrupted, the roads AREN’T impassable due to earthquake damage, the truckers AREN’T on strike, etc. I also only bought one box of 9mm ammo as Big 5 only had 4. Let’s remember that we have ~ 120,000 West Seattle neighbors who need the same things we do. No one should have 90 rolls of toilet paper while their next door neighbors have 2….or none.

    • Chuck Jacobs March 15, 2020 (4:49 pm)

      I haven’t purchased any ammo in Seattle since the 5 cents/rd. ammo tax went in to effect a few years ago. I buy online or in bulk when there’s a sale, especially after the last panic/shortage.

  • kim March 14, 2020 (10:02 pm)

    @Hockeywitch–Just let us know what you need.  angelescrestk@gmail.com

  • B March 14, 2020 (11:13 pm)

    Not all of us are hoarding, some are suddenly needing extra food as we are having the kids that have been off at university come back because their dorms/schools have closed.

    And some of us are hosting the international students (and others) from those schools who are now unable to get back to their homes, either due to travel restrictions, unsafe conditions, visa difficulties (leaving=don’t come back/ lose student visa/scholarships, etc.) and have nowhere else to go.

    And some of us are buying for our neighbors who can’t get to the stores.

    So when you see many boxes of cereal, pounds of cheese, multiple hand soaps, paper towels, several toilet paper packages, lots of cans of soups, etc. in my cart, think hard and consider other possibilities.

    • T March 15, 2020 (1:20 am)

      If this was the case, we would see grocery stores cleaned out in June every year. I’ve lived in Seattle 30 years and this has never been the case. People are hoarding. It’s not right and it’s a stop along the pathway to something not good. I hope we turn a corner soon with this virus. If we don’t, it’s just going to get increasingly more uncomfortable in Seattle.

    • Jeremy S Fountaine March 15, 2020 (6:52 am)

      Defensive much. No one should be shaming, people will judge, who cares? The point of these PSAs is to advise people not to panic and buy more than they need. Of you need 18 boxes of Mac n cheese because of the reasons you listed then you need it. Of you’re single and living alone, perhaps buy double what your normally do to reduce your store trips. If you’re single loving alone please don’t buy 10 packs of TP, or all of the sanitizer wipes, leave some for your neighbors, etc. 

  • panic March 14, 2020 (11:18 pm)

    don’t people know they can use washcloths and wash them if they run out of tp? or wash off in the shower. it may seem uncivilized, but it will work. everyone’s survival skills are lacking. calm down.

    • J March 15, 2020 (5:49 pm)

      No. People don’t know this. Thanks for saying it plainly. If you do the rag thing, like cloth diapers used to be managed, you will need a container near the toilet to store them and transport them to the washing machine with. Wash separately on hot with some bleach in that load. Dry completely. Wash your hands well, and avoid contaminating surfaces with bodily waste. Keep your dog out of the bathroom. You could take one of those Trump rally tee-shirts and cut that up to wipe your **** with. That would be it’s highest and best use.

      • J March 15, 2020 (6:06 pm)

        Do what you think is safest and best, just give it some thought, and hand washing, because no one wants to go to the hospital with an E. coli infection these days, or slip and fall in a scramble to the shower.

  • Ice March 15, 2020 (2:12 am)

    this whole crisis made me realize I need to buy a bidet.

  • muddy March 15, 2020 (6:47 am)

    Reduce or eliminate toilet paper by getting a bidet. Best decision ever.

  • anonyme March 15, 2020 (8:18 am)

    Amazon/Whole Foods delivery is now taking several days and nearly a third of the items on my list were out of stock.  As a senior in self-quarantine, it’s getting scary not knowing if I’ll be able to get food or not, especially on a restrictive diet.  I’ve lived through much worse, but just saying.  Hoarding is selfish and unnecessary.

  • G-Man March 15, 2020 (8:30 am)

    Yes, a bidet is great.  Or simply wash off in the shower.  Wash vs. wipe?  Think about it…which is more sanitary?  No contest…WASH!  I’m amused by the Toilet Paper hoarding phenomenon.  Have the masses suddenly come down with explosive diarrhea?  Gastrointestinal distress is not even a symptom of Corona Virus illness.  Really?!  Toilet paper?!  That’s the product most cannot live without in an emergency?!  Holy sh*t!  (Pun intended).

  • HS March 15, 2020 (9:28 am)

    Recommend Hello Tushy bidet.https://hellotushy.com/

  • Aerial Observer March 15, 2020 (9:42 am)

    Last week, the employees of the QFC here at the Alaska Junction were laughing at the supplies which had been depleted by panic-buying: toilet paper, hand-sanitizer, chips & salsa. You know, what Americans call “essentials.” ;-)West Seattle is a big pile of loose dirt, regularly drenched by heavy rains, surrounded on three sides by some very cold water, sitting in the middle of an earthquake zone. Every residence should always have at least a two-week supply of non-perishable items, and a similar supply of some long-term perishable items, including bottled water and canned goods. This reserve can be accumulated without panic-buying: just purchase a little more than needed each time. Then, when an event like COVID-19 happens, you’re all ready to sit at home and watch the panic.

    • songstorm March 15, 2020 (6:46 pm)

      Our New Year’s Resolution was to finally buckle down and prepare the emergency kit we’d talked about building forever.  Definitely didn’t anticipate an emergency coming along so soon, and we aren’t 100% prepped, but it’s nice to have peace of mind from the supplies we did get.

      Forgot the chips & salsa though, darnit!

  • Sue T. March 15, 2020 (10:16 am)

    As someone who often uses TP for blowing their nose or dabbing their face, I’ll pass on the helpful tip of replacing it with a  sit-down bathroom bidet or water jet.  

  • JDLR March 15, 2020 (10:43 am)

    Another shout-out to bidets. Look up Micheal Che’s segment from Weekend Update, 💯

  • BleachIt March 15, 2020 (1:01 pm)

    I have yet to see someone “hoard” buying. Most people are stocking up for their family or elderly people as per the govt recommendation. Don’t assume that the person w a more than one pack of toilet paper is taking it home just for themselves. They may be buying it for people in their community who are sick or for their family. 

    Just a word to those who love bidets: I regularly clean the bathroom for someone who uses one and there’s a ton of “spray-back.” It’s inevitable. Bidets are a great answer to toilet paper, but–in my experience–involve more thorough toilet cleaning.

    Diluted bleach in a spray bottle is your best friend right now. 10%. Super cheap.

    • J March 15, 2020 (4:36 pm)

      Yes, cheap and very effective I’ve heard. Be careful not to inhale too many of the cleaning fumes while disinfecting. Chlorine vapors are hard on the lungs. I have a list of recommended comercial Coronavirus surface cleaners somewhere… it’s VERY long. Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice etc. have NOT been proven effective here though, so stick to what probably will work until we all have some immunity. Just use cold water for bleach solution hold your face back if spraying, consider a pouring bottle rather than spray for surfaces, and take it easy for the sake of your lungs. You want your lungs in top condition now. You might be one of the many who get hit with the nasty pneumonia at the end of this COVID. Your chances are better if your lungs are as healthy as they can be right now. 

Sorry, comment time is over.