How To Prepare For Going Into A Quarantine 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 due to the Bubonic Plague and the Black Plague caused one man to die and 3 more people to become ...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) Our kit is sold out, but this one is similar: Pandemic Virus Kit Module by AXP
• Extra N95 masks (3M 1860 Health Care N95 Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask, S..., 3M 8511 Particulate N95 Respirator with Valve, 10-Pack, and 3M 8000 Particle Respirator N95, 30-Pack )
• N100 masks (3M Particulate Respirator 8233, N100, Moldex 2730 N100 Respirator Mask with Handy Strap Bx/5 Each, 3M 8233 N100 Particulate Respirator – Case of 20
• Nitrile gloves (Dynarex Black Nitrile Exam Gloves, Heavy-Duty, Powder Free, Large, ..., Liberty T2010W Nitrile Industrial Glove, Powder Free, Disposable, 4...
  SafeTouch Nitrile Exam Gloves, Non Latex, 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/Te...), DEWALT DPG82-11C Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle, DEWALT DPG82-11C Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle, Neiko 53875B ANSI Z87.1 Anti-Fog Approved Wide-Vision Extra-Soft La...
• Protective clothing: DuPont TY122S Disposable Elastic Wrist, Bootie & Hood White Tyv..., Dupont TY120S L Large Tyvek Coveralls Suit, Sold By Each, DuPont Tyvek TY122S Disposable Coverall with Hood and Boots, Elasti...
• Antibacterial cleaners such as disposable wipes, bleach, and spray cleaners
• Antibacterial hand sanitizer (Purell Pump Bottle, Original, 8 Ounce (Pack of 12))

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, particularly in the event that there are issues with sanitation

Related:

Here’s why I won’t be lining up to get an Ebola vaccine

Here’s why you should NOT panic over Ebola

Books and Reference Materials:

Ebola Survival Handbook: A Collection of Tips, Strategies, and Supp...

The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through...

The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months

Sealing Yourself In: Prepping for Bioterrorism, Chemical Disasters,...

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Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor.  Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca

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