Coronavirus preparation: What steps Australians have taken to stock up in case things get worse

The Federal Government activated its coronavirus emergency plan last week, as experts warned that a COVID-19 global pandemic could soon be declared.

While we're still being told to go about our normal lives, under a worst-case scenario in Australia, measures would include:

Aged-care homes being locked down Childcare centres being closed People having to work from home University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay told the ABC people needed to think about whether they had enough medication and food to last a fortnight (while also cautioning against panic buying, saying, "We don't want to see empty shelves").

Already, some supermarket shelves are starting to empty.

We asked our readers on Facebook Messenger to tell us what steps they'd taken (if any) to be prepared in case things got worse. Here's what they told us.

Colin D told us he'd been preparing for a while His family started buying extra essential, long-life items in January:

"This avoided undue load on supply later. Examples are pet food, canned foods, rice, disinfectant, toilet paper, disposable gloves. Not a huge supply, but enough for a few weeks."

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-03/how-our-readers-have-prepared-for-coronavirus/12017646

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