Covid-19 Recommended Supplies List

The following are recommendations based on the Hackerfarm emergency checklist we are using:

General

  • Non-perishable food
    • Slowly stocking up, ~2 weeks of reserve ideally. Our goal is mainly to reduce the number of trips to the grocery store to once per week
  • Bottled water
    • It’s unlikely that water will get shut off but our experience is bottled water is always a desired emergency item
  • Coffee or tea
    • Good if you need a morning caffeine fix, especially if you’re working from home
  • Required or prescription medication
    • 60-90 days. It may be difficult to make general doctor visits so get those prescriptions while you can
  • Cash
    • Cash is king in Japan and not all places accept credit cards. We recommend enough cash for one month’s spending. Having a cash stash helps prevent sudden or unexpected trips to the ATM
  • Documents
    • Keep all of your essential documents, ie: passports, drivers license, ID, etc in a central, easily reachable location, ideally in a bag or container
  • Contacts
    • Gather the phone numbers and emails of anyone you may need to contact in an emergency
  • Access
    • Make sure you know the URLs and passwords of any critical accounts, ie: bank accounts, credit card accounts, etc. This is especially important if you have shared accounts and your partner suddenly gets sick.
  • Pet Food
    • If you have any pets, make sure they have food to eat too.

Hygiene

  • Disinfection supplies
    • These would be bleach, alcohol, and/or hydrogen peroxide. As of this writing, bleach and 99.9% isopropyl alcohol can still be purchased via Amazon Japan
  • Spray bottles
    • These are useful for diluting the bleach or alcohol and also dispensing it for cleaning
  • Hand soap
    • Frequent hand washing may mean you go through soap faster than normal
  • Paper towels
    • For cleaning surfaces and handles
  • Toilet paper, tissues
    • Buy it if you can find it
  • Toothpaste
  • Trash bags

Health

  • Aspirin
  • Thermometer
    • So you can take your temperature daily to check if you may have gotten sick
  • Cough/cold medication
    • In case you get sick
  • First-aid kit
    • Generally good practice for any emergency

Entertainment

  • Hobby supplies
    • Yarn, wood, any supplies you need for your hobbies
  • Board games
  • Books
  • Reliable computer + internet connection
    • Will be your best friend for a while
  • Headset + microphone
    • For social interaction and participation