knowledge and experience is the perfect counterbalance. While I’ve seen plenty of emergency preparedness books written either by a survival pro or an emergency responder, each has their own unique angle on how to survive disasters, and never had I seen one that combined both perspectives into one volume. Based on Tim’s previous writing I knew we would bring a point of view to this
book that would complement each other’s strengths.
It wasn’t until the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic that I realizedthe lack of disaster preparedness books specifically focused on infectious disease. While most disasters are regional in scale, pandemics are global and include an avalanche of information
from the media and the internet. It’s easy to get overwhelmed.
Reading this handbook will give you the skills to plan and the
confidence to be resilient enough to survive future pandemics.
I’ve been a survival instructor for more than two decades, and I can tell you from experience thatthere’s nothing easy about survival in any type of emergency scenario. But if we look at history, survival was our day job as early humans. In ancient times, we scrambled to protect ourselves from threats and we struggled to acquire the supplies to help us last one more day. In a modern crisis, it can feel like we have returned to that stressful hand-to-mouth way of life. Our shelters, garb, and technology are different, but our needs and vulnerabilities haven’t changed in tens of thousands of years. We need the same things we have always needed, and we can be harmed in the same ways we’ve faced forever. Our “caves” may be air-conditioned now, but we still hide in them to protect ourselves from the threats of the day (like viruses and desperate people). As we make “supply runs” to the store in the midst of disease, these hunting and gathering trips can feel like an expedition to some hostile landscape. While this all sounds rough, there is a bright side: We can find comfort in continuity. Our ancestors made it through plague after plague, for thousands of years and they did it with fewer resources and less knowledge than we
possess today. If they endured, we can too. It’s just going to take some hard work.
Getting sick and fighting over the last roll of toilet paper aren’t the only hardships we face in a pandemic. We may lose our jobs due to the injured economy or lose a relationship due to the stress and strain of the situation. Pandemics are like a sucker punch, coming out of nowhere and striking us by surprise. That’s bad enough, but then the crisis keeps tossing surprises at us. In times like these, it’s going to take both skills and knowledge to keep you from becoming victim and turn you into a survivor. By cultivating your inherent traits of adaptability and tenacity, you can endure when things get tough. By planning ahead and learning new skills, you make yourself (and your household) more resilient and better able to adapt to change. In short, you are hard-wired for survival, and we are here to help you make the most of that. In this book, my co-author Joseph and I are going to show you how to prepare for the worst, share methods to manage your own survival, help you plan how to take care of your loved ones and friends, and provide ways to face a crisis that has dogged humanity for thousands of years—the scenario of a deadly epidemic. Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sometimes, it takes a crisis to peel away the distractions and noise of our busy lives, to remind
us the things that matter the most to us.
tim Macwelch
Founder, Advanced Survival Training
Survive a Pandemic
the basics
What You Need to Know, Right Now
Sometimes, the simplest things can make the biggest difference. Before we show you how to gear up for emergencies or help you “head for the hills” to escape, you’ll need to lay thegroundwork for pandemic safety. Nothing can be built up without a solid foundation.
KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON In a pandemic, it often feels as though the guidelines and projected outcomes are changing every day—and often, that’s because they are. In this chapter, we give you the basic information you need to know about the novel coronavirus,as well as best-practice tactics for any outbreak or epidemic.
KEEP IT CLEAN Washing your hands really does work to prevent the spread of disease and this simple practice might just save your life, but your hands aren’t the only thing to keep clean. Learn to harness you inner “clean freak” by disinfecting items that come from the outside and prevent cross-contamination in your home.
AVOID THE SCAMSTough times can bring out the best in people, as communities rally to help each other. Unfortunately, they can also bring out the worst. Bogus “cures” that do more harm than good, phishing scams, and identity thievery are just a few of the hazards we face—above and beyond the plague at our doorsteps.
There are a wide range of skills and tips in this book, from quick survival solutions to more elaborate plans, from everyday needs to worst-case scenarios. Before you jump ahead, it’s smart to build a foundation of knowledge.
01
02
Wondering how to know if what’s going on is an outbreak, an epidemic, or a pandemic? Each represents a jump in severity and, while there are not exact delineations, here are the commonly
understood distinctions.
OUTBREAK An outbreak is a sudden rise in the number of cases of a disease. An outbreak may occur in a community or geographical area, or may even affect several countries. It may last for a few days or weeks, or even for several years. Some outbreaks are expected each year, the most common example being the
seasonal flu that hits every winter.
EPIDEMIC An outbreak becomes an epidemic once it starts spreading more quickly (and usually to a larger
population) than expected.
PANDEMIC If an outbreak spreads rapidly across nations or massive landmasses, it is termed a pandemic. Once it has jumped continents, we
begin calling it a global pandemic.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
People who end up in intensive care due to Covid-19 often suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, which impairs the lungs’ ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. This can result in organ failure, brain damage, abnormal heart rhythms, and other serious
conditions. The signs and symptoms of ARDS can begin
within hours to days of infection; treatment uses a ventilator. Globally, ARDS affects more than 3 million people a year, as it can also occur from conditions such as pneumonia, sepsis, severe burns, and smoke inhalation. ARDS has a mortality rate of approximately 40% and even for those who survive, a
decreased quality of life is sadly common.
KNOWABOUT ARDS
0304IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSEWhile the specifics of any outbreak will keep changing and
basics
Coronaviruses