Coronavirus concerns mega-thread

It's panic buying. More people are shopping, and grabbing "extra essentials," including extra toilet paper. TP is bulky and takes up a lot of space in the stockroom, and doesn't usually turn over all that fast, so stores don't keep massive stockpiles back there. (Newsflash: stores don't keep massive stockpiles of ANYTHING in the back. When you ask someone to "check the back," they're using it as an excuse for a short break nine times out of ten.)

So, people are grabbing two packs of TP instead of one. The shelf starts depleting faster, and people start to worry. "What if I can't get toilet paper? I know I have a full pack at home, but I'd better grab more, just in case." Now the shelf's empty, and people are full on freaking out. "I won't be able to get toilet paper! I need to grab every pack I see because I can't get anymore!"

Add the way the media is really blowing this up (I've noticed they only report "new cases in..." and "another death in..." but are a little sparse on "new cases going down in..." and recovered numbers, which don't get clicks), and people start thinking they're going to be trapped in their homes for months with no toilet paper to be seen anywhere, and that photo of an empty shelf at Costco that the local news media ran just proves it! Better get ten!

 

Yes, I know that's probably it. It just seems so bizarre to me. I can sort of understand it when it comes to things somewhat related to the disease, like soap and certain medicines, but why toilet paper? I mean, unless the man mentioned earlier has a very large family what he bought will last him for months.

I think those who get overly worked up have mostly done it to themselves. I mean, if you go looking for horror stories and wild speculations you are bound to find them, right?

The media coverage here (I'm speaking of the main tv news) have been pretty good, actually. Information have been plentiful and clear and the real experts have been allowed to do most of the talking. When drastic decisions, like the event-ting, have been made there have been a clear motivation given as to why the decisions have been made as they have.
I might jinx it now, but even the more extreme of the political parties have been more or less mature about the whole thing (or at the very least have had the good sense to stay out of the spotlight).
I'm sure, as things start to calm down again, this will be used as leverage to argue the most absurd of points later, but for the moment there has been very little of that.

To bring it back to the topic of dolls; the moldmaking and first cast of the doll I'm currently sculpting may have to be delayed because of a shortage of disposable gloves.
If that and a delayed doll convention is the worst I suffer from all this I will not complain.

 

Like I said, I'm pretty sure it relates to the stock footprint and levels. A store can fit a lot of soup, or ramen, or even little soap pumps on the shelves, and it'll take a while before it starts to look really low, but TP (and paper towels) take up so much space that when even a small percentage is gone, it looks far more wiped out than it really is, and the lower the shelves get, the higher the customers' anxiety gets.

I'm pretty sure the reason for the massive delays on an order I've been waiting for are in part because of all this. I expected it to ship to the dealer around December to January, and as of my last inquiry (I'm asking about once a month just because I know it's exceptional circumstances right now) they were "preparing to ship" yet again... hopefully that means they're all healthy and getting back to work!

 

The only thing I would worry is it will take longer for the package to arrive to the US especially if it is from China. I know for the fact the USPS announced their limitation on shipping and handling to and from China. If you don't mind waiting for a longer period of time, then I think it would be okay to order from Asian countries at this time.

 

I'm in Kentucky, US and just today I heard store employees talking about how WalMart, Dollar General and Meijer are all sold out of toilet paper. I think it's weird as hell too. I mean, I work retail and I understand large things moving quickly makes shelves look empty faster than small things selling at the same rate, but it's weird to me that of all things, it's toilet paper disappearing so quickly.

We do have confirmed cases of the virus in the state, and one of them is a patient at the same hospital where one of my family members goes for an ongoing medical condition. That really scares me, especially as he is having health problems that would probably be deadly if he caught the virus.

I work in mall retail and cannot for the life of me understand why people go out when they're sick or drag their sick kids to the mall. There is absolutely nothing in our mall that anyone would need in an emergency. It's inconsiderate and dangerous and the reason why illness spreads so quickly and easily. I hate hand sanitizer, but I find myself using it constantly at work when I can't go wash my hands. Our company and mall have both released new procedures for keeping everything clean, including sanitizing the store multiple times a day. It's crazy. Sorry for the rant.

As far as dolls, I haven't really ordered anything international since this all started, but I had ordered a doll in December and some clothes in...January maybe? The clothes arrived without issue. I wasn't really expecting the doll until April or May, but I'm not sure if he'll be on time or not. I doubt it, but as much as I want my doll, I don't want the people working for the company or dealer to have to go to work sick, or expose themselves to infection just to make my doll. I'll still support all the artists I would have even without this mess going on, just because the virus first broke out in their country isn't a good reason to stop supporting them, especially when the main outbreak location is hundreds of miles from many of the shops!

 

This is probably a pretty out-there question, and mods, I apologize if it's not considered on topic...if so, please delete this post.

Since the virus can survive for a time on surfaces such as plastics, if someone thinks their doll has been exposed to the virus (either from being in the same house as someone who is sick or else from taking the doll to work/outside for a photoshoot), what sanitizing methods are safe for resin? What about faceups/other delicate areas? Or would it be safer all around to just "quarantine" the doll until a suitable period of time has passed?

(Disclaimer: I probably read The Velveteen Rabbit way too many times as a kid, and I work in a library that is going to close for a period of time to prevent the spread of the virus - we've been cleaning off a lot of books and toys.)

 

Rakonto, I don't think it's a big concern. Wash their clothes with soap or spray them with your favored disinfectant. A theater friend of mine has me preferring cheap vodka for clothes, but something like lysol would work too. Give the resin a wash with soap and water. Sing your preferred meme-tastic hand washing songs as a medley. Make sure to leave them out for a while for elastic to dry. The wigs you can spray or quarantine for a week or two. It's a nastier version of the flu and that's mostly because of how long you can be contagious without being symptomatic.

I know you mentioned faceups specifically in your question. I've washed plenty of doll faces with a soft cloth and soap and water to get off dust and dirt without any problem. A clean old t-shirt is a good choice because it's unlikely to scratch.

 

Or, you simply wash your hands after handeling things that the infected person has interacted with and use some common sense, like, you know , not lick it.
This is not an air born virus and it need so get into your system somehow to make you sick. It is way more likely to get it from a door handle, a light switch or similar that you touch and then infect yourself by touching your mouth, eyes, food etc.

 

I’m seeing that this virus lives on dry surfaces for about 3 days.
if you are expecting a new parcel, you could just quarantine it for a while.

I’m actually not worried about catching it from dolls or clothes. At this point if I sneeze on my current dolls, it’s only me and my germs so it doesn’t matter. It’s not like the doll is gonna infect me again once I’ve healed. It’s the exact same strain so my body will have immunity.
And I wash my hands after opening new mail, and throw away the packaging.

 

I agree with @Lillith - I even worry about stuff I've bought from shops, using bannister rails in shops, door handles, everything - but the rule is wash your hands thoroughly, and don't touch your face! So if you're at all worried about handling doll boxes or new dolls, just wash your hands afterwards ^_^

 

I think scientists have confirmed that the virus can only last for three days on objects as said above. Viruses can't live for very long without a living host. If you're worried your things are infected, quarantining them for three days will make sure the virus is dead. I quarantined my latest package by stuffing it in a trash bag and putting it in an unused corner of the house. Then I washed my hands thoroughly. If you're too impatient to wait but still worried about the virus then I'd recommend wearing gloves and opening the package on a surface that can either be thrown away (like a trash bag) or sanitized, then put everything back in the box, and then quarantine it. Packages generally take at least a few days to get to you so quarantining a package for three days would definitely be long enough for the virus to die.

 

Thank you all for your responses.

 

Ahhh.....today, Toronto is almost in shut down mode. We are stuck at home. Fortunately for me, a doll I bought from the secondary market arrived last night, so today, I spent all day at home fiddling with him. I am almost too happy to have something to do when everybody at home looked for something to keep busy and entertained.

Meanwhile, I am surprised Anime North and Doll North convention is still happening in late May. I suppose that is too far away to be postponed or cancelled. It's awfully quiet today outside. I feel very sorry for the businesses. Grocery store shelves are half empty and .......toilet paper sold out!

 

With how fast everything's changing right now, it's definitely worth it for conventions that are more than a month out to be in a "holding pattern." They can take the time to set up a plan B in case they do have to cancel (which is a messy situation!), but if things have cleared they won't be held liable for breaking their contract with the venue (events cancelling now can use any force majeure clauses in their contracts to avoid the liability). I think the organizers of pretty much every convention, even ones much later in the year, are watching what's happening right now. It's kind of unprecedented.

On a more upbeat note, COVID-19 can only survive about 24 hours on cardboard, which is good news for outer shipping boxes! (And three days on plastics, so you can probably go ahead and open your boxes after the 24 hours needed for the cardboard, because the inside will likely have been untouched for more than 72 hours--unless customs opened it.) NPR has a good article about the study.

 

Something about delivery: I just received my order from Granado today. So it took 3 months (including Spring Festival) in total to get a head-only package. I also asked the customer service and they told me that full dolls will take longer.

 

@vicemage that's good to know! I have been buying used goods off eBay and felt a bit worried.

Sadly, my last small package from China (a wig) went missing in late January, even though it was marked as delivered. My attempts to track it down were fruitless. It seems that if it's "delivered," there's nothing you can do. I feel suspicious that someone threw it away before it could get to me, especially if it was mis-delivered, since the coronavirus scare was starting to get big around that time. One way or another, I'm not ordering anything from China for a long time, because that was a huge burn.

 

I'm more worried that my order will eventually get lost in other orders. I ordered a pair of boots right before all this happened and was promised 2 week processing time. Obviously, as soon as everything happened, I knew it was going to take a while. I don't particularly mind, because I would much rather people be staying safe than risking themselves to get out a pair of boots. I am worried it'll get lost though. When I check the website, my order, of course, still says "unshipped," but there is no longer a processing time next to it. I figured it'll take too long to get here for me to have to worry about the virus being on the product, but I am a little nervous that orders will back up and my order will disappear among them.

 

I got a tiny package from the UK today from an Etsy seller who I love. Completely forgot the order left. It's been state side a while now. Man did my mom freak out at me. :/ Same thing last month when I had a doll arrive. I'm in one of the states where school is out and VR learning has been used. Only Day 1 and I miss classes already.

 

I too think some of my orders may be delayed or disappear altogether. I will be saddened to lose the funds but I am more concerned with people's health right now. Definitely going to pause on ordering anything more internationally for the time being! My state also has school and now restaurant closures. I myself am on mandatory work from home until further notice. I'll be using this time to finish some doll projects!
I am quite concerned for some of our favorite doll makers and companies. Some haven't posted any sort of update, news, or new announcements in weeks. I just hope everyone is healthy and safe!