CLEVELAND, Ohio – Three Ohioans, all from Cuyahoga County, have tested positive for coronavirus, the governor announced Monday afternoon.

If the situation worsens and people begin avoiding crowds and staying home as much as possible to avoid the highly contagious disease, what might they need?

“Well, obviously, the first thing is food,” said Paul G. Buescher, a trustee for Northfield Center in Summit County and an emergency preparedness consultant who is part of a local “prepper” group.

While Buescher’s group, like other survivalist organizations and individuals, has enough canned goods and meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) to survive for years, Buescher recommends everyone have at least two weeks’ worth of food on hand.

“I know people that basically go shopping every night on the way home from work, just to pick up something for their dinners, and that’s ridiculous,” Buescher said. “You don’t know when something’s going to be cut off. Use some common sense and stock up your refrigerator with your favorite meals and things.”

Next, people should stock up on basic hygiene supplies, Buescher said. That includes antibacterial soap and, in the event that you’re unable to wash your hands, hand sanitizer with a high alcohol content.

“Keep your hands washed,” Buescher said. “Watch what you touch.”

On the subject of sanitizers, have you seen the reports that cell phones are dirtier than toilets? Coronavirus notwithstanding, there are special sanitizers that will clean phones and other devices such as tablets.

The PhoneSoap 3 sanitizer uses UV light to kill 99.99% of the bacteria on your device and features a USB port for simultaneous charging. It’s $79.95 and available to preorder with a shipment date of April 1.

Another option is the $80 PhoneSoap Smartphone Sanitizer from Uncommon Goods, though it’s backordered. This case features built-in acoustic amplifiers so you can keep listening to music while your device is getting a scrub.

When it comes to protective face masks, some survivalists, such as Bernie Carr of the urban-focused emergency preparedness blog Apartment Prepper, suggest stocking up while they’re still available. The CDC said Wednesday it has seen an increase in demand for face masks and respirators, but emphasized that there is no need for the American general public to wear a mask. Buescher agrees.

“You know how small a virus is? You’re talking electron microscope type of things and you think a little thin piece of cloth over your face is going to stop them?” Buescher said. “It’s not really protection.”

The best protection, in Buescher’s eyes, is to stay away from crowds.

“But I know people don’t want to hear that,” Buescher said. “You want to go to a basketball game, or some other event that has a lot of people in it, but you don’t know who might be carrying it there. Stay away from a lot of people.”

It’s a practice that Joe Alton of PrepperNet.com calls “social distancing,” and includes staying away from large crowds and potentially not going to work, keeping children home from school and isolating sick people in your family from healthy ones.

So, if you decide to isolate yourself, what else should you have on hand?

“If you’re going to stay in your house for any period of time, make sure you’ve got the medicines to cover you for that period of time, especially for prescription medications,” Buescher said.

You’ll also want to make sure you have a first-aid kit and a supply of any over-the-counter medicines you frequently use. Other basics include toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, feminine hygiene products and batteries for any battery-operated devices that may require them while you’re staying indoors.

To take care of any four-legged family members, maintain a supply of pet food, cat litter and other supplies. Depending on the severity of the potential outbreak, you’ll probably be safe to take your dog outside, Buescher said.

“Unless a pet is in a crowd of people and everybody’s touching it, I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said.

Buescher recommends keeping a supply of purified water in the event that the virus enters the water supply. His community uses Royal Berkey gravitational water filters, which cost about $330 on Amazon. Other similar devices can be bought for around $40.

“It gives you a little more of a feeling of safety,” Buescher said. “Things that are coming into your house – water, gas, whatever – things are coming into your home, and a lot of it you don’t have control over. If you want to be really safe, use a water filter.

Of course, if you’re cooped up in your house all the time, you’ll want some entertainment, so consider streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu or YouTube TV. The services that include live programming might be the most useful, so you can remain up-to-date on the news.

“You need to know what’s going on around you,” Buescher said. “If this happens to turn into a pandemic, you really have to keep up and know what’s going on around you, because if you don’t know what’s going on around you, how can you prepare for it? Information is very, very important - TV, radio, internet, whatever.”

According to Boise State Public Radio, “prepper” businesses that sell food and supplies for emergencies have seen increased sales since the Wuhan coronavirus started making headlines. While the disease doesn’t pose an imminent threat, many people find themselves thinking, “What if?”

“It’s not a time to panic,” Buescher said. “There’s nothing in Ohio or anywhere near us, but you don’t know what the future’s going to bring. You have to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.”