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Oat milk was the most sought-after product in February in the food and beverage category that Nielsen tracks The surge in demand could be because it has a longer shelf-life than cow’s milk, which may appeal to consumers who want to be ready to shelter in place or engage in “social distancing,” which CDC officials have said could help stop the spread of the coronavirus

“As consumers assess their purchasing decisions around what can be stored for long periods and what cannot, there’s little doubt that buying will shift toward shelf-stable and frozen options,” Nielsen wrote in a report about “Pandemic Pantries” (The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus a “global health emergency,” the organization’s highest alert level, but it is not considered a pandemic.)

See also:How America’s ‘survivalists’ are preparing for a worst-case coronavirus epidemic — ‘beans, bullets and Band-Aids’

Oatly, a brand of oat milk sold in the US., says that the 32 oz cartons sold on its site are “shelf-stable and will stay fresh until the best by date.” Until the carton is opened, there is no need to refrigerate it, Oatly adds.

Sales of aerosol disinfectant products were nearly 100% higher than last year, Nielsen found Sales of bath and shower wipes had increased nearly 60%. Several companies — including Clorox, GOJO (Purell’s parent company) and Lysol — claim to cleanse surfaces of coronavirus, but haven’t actually tested it against the novel coronavirus COVID19

American consumers are cutting back on fresh fruit and vegetables — sales for apples and celery decreased by 4% and 16% respectively in the last week of February, according to Nielsen But dried beans increased by 36.9%. (Beans are a favored staple of some “survivalists.”)

Shoppers have been flocking to stores like Costco US:COST to stock up on these products. The company reported better than expected results for the second quarter. Analysts attributed this to “an uptick in consumer demand.” 

As coronavirus infections spread, demand for oat milk is outpacing hand sanitizer

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Published: March 6, 2020 at 10:01 p.m. ET

By 

Elisabeth Buchwald

Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that the general public not use face masks, sales were 475% higher last week compared to a year ago

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NLSN
-1.74% 
COST
-1.40% 

Oat milk sales were 323% higher in late February this year compared to the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen.

 MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto

Hand sanitizer and face masks are high on the list of products Americans have been stocking up on amid the coronavirus outbreak, but there’s another less obvious top seller: oat milk.

Worldwide, there are 102,168 COVID-19 cases and 3,491 deaths as of Friday evening; 57,375 people worldwide have recovered, according to data published by the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering. In the U.S., 14 people have died — 12 in Washington State and two in California — and there are 328 confirmed cases.

Demand for the plant-based dairy alternative surged in late February as the U.S. absorbed warnings from public health officials that the novel coronavirus COVID19 could soon disrupt their daily lives, according to new data from the market research firm Nielsen US:NLSN.

In fact, demand for oat milk is outpacing hand sanitizer In the last week of February, oat milk sales were 323% higher than the same week in 2019. Hand sanitizer sales were 313% higher than they were for the same week last year.

There is now a limited supply of hand sanitizer available online and in stores — prompting some consumers to make their own in the meantime (although the effectiveness of homemade versions is questionable)

Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that the general public refrain from wearing face masks, sales of face masks were 475% higher during that week than the year prior, according to Nielsen

The Top 25 Most Exclusive Golf And Country Clubs In The World Honored With Platinum Status

 Jim Dobson Contributor LIFESTYLE

Photo credit: Getty

Walking along Magnolia Lane headed to the stunning clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club, I was surrounded by perfectly groomed greens, massive magnolia trees and abundant yellow pansies creating the shape of the Founders Circle. The breathtaking beauty of the club is what contributes to its legendary position as one of the very best private golf clubs in the world. Members are properly dressed, and a few of them wear the coveted Green jackets indicating their prestige and rank. However, you will likely never get the chance to play at Augusta or any of the top private clubs in the world. You will also never be invited to join as a member or certainly afford the extravagant initiation fees.

In order to become a part of the most elite private golf and country clubs in the world, most clubs require members to follow very strict rules. Walking is mandatory, uniformed caddies are $120 per bag plus tip, there is a strict dress code, no shorts, backward hats and absolutely no hats inside the club, no cell phone use, drinking on the course is a tradition and of course jacket and tie for dinners.

Here are the top 25 winning worldwide clubs for 2018-2019 Platinum Club of the World Status.

News

North Korea’s Secret Coronavirus Crisis is Crazy Scary

Donald Kirk

,

The Daily Beast•February 9, 2020

KIM WON-JIN/AFP via Getty Images

SEOUL–North Korea’s not saying a word about deaths or illnesses from the coronavirus, but the disease reportedly has spread across the border from China and is taking a toll in a country with a dismal health care system and scant resources for fighting off the deadly bug.

From Lobsters and Steak to Coronavirus: One Couple’s Surreal Cruise Nightmare

One sure sign of the regime’s fears is that it failed to stage a parade in central Pyongyang on Saturday, the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the country’s armed forces. Last year, Kim Jong Un himself presided over the procession that displayed the North’s latest missiles and other fearsome hardware along with goose-stepping soldiers in serried ranks.

This year, nothing about the nation’s nuclear warheads, much less the “new strategic weapon” that Kim has vowed to unveil. Rodong Sinmum, the newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, merely cited the armed forces’ supposed success combating “severe and dangerous difficulties”—and said nothing at all about the parade.

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But reports have filtered out about Kim’s subjects falling prey to coronavirus despite the country’s decision to seal its 880-mile border with China, most of it along the Yalu River into the Yellow Sea to the west, and its 11-mile border with Russia where the Tumen River flows into the Pacific.

Among the first to report fatalities in North Korea, the Seoul-based website Daily NK said five people had died in the critical northwestern city of Sinuiju, on the Yalu River across road and rail bridges from Dandong, which is the largest Chinese city in the region and a key point for commerce with North Korea despite sanctions.

Daily NK, which relies on sources inside North Korea that send reports via Chinese mobile phone networks to contacts in China, said authorities had “ordered public health officials in Sinuiju to quickly dispose of the bodies and keep the deaths secret from the public.”

The victims had crossed the porous Yalu River border despite orders to cut off traffic from China as the disease radiated from the industrial city of Wuhan where the virus originated in December. As of Sunday, more than 700 people had died inside China.