How did older people in elderly residence home get COVID 19? (In the EU countries?) Statistical data in Europe shows that the highest numbers of deaths from COVID 19 were recorded in residence for the elderly. For example, in Spain 17,700 elderly people died in 5,457 residences (until now). However, beyond the statistics, there are the people, direct and collateral victims of the virus. For instance, at personal level, I have been directly affected by the passed away of my mother, in Romania, without the possibility of having said goodbye to her (due to the closure of EU borders; I live and work in Spain). The questions are: if these residences were protected and isolated since the beginning of the pandemic, how did the virus become inflicted directly on these residences. What has failed in management? Are these still residences being an option for the future? Should they change their working model?
The elderly residence home was not protected and hygienically insulated. There are examples of GHP in Spain, the most affected country on this segment of the population, of residences where the quarantined OF staff, with the elderly, has avoided tragedies.
It's about education and management, health and institutional. Residences are still an option for the future, but should they change their working model.
See also Renaud Di Francesco
Covid19 ABM propagation in an elderly care home: -a simple Agent Based Model (ABM) for simulations -use case discussion: care home, households in lockdown, large events
I am feeling very sorry for the departed soul of your mother. May she get a higher place in heaven. Rest in peace. We all are responsible for death or infecting others. We have to take care of it. Everyone is responsible for infecting everyone.
Dear Dr. Ali Raza :Thank you for your kind message and condolences. Y consider that society need to change the model of elderly people in the future. In this way the elderly home have to be permnently in contact with medical service. This link is urgently in care. Because unfortunately these centers nowadays, are only business... In the city of Galati Rumania where my mother died, during the quarantine, doctors were prohibited from entering the residence. Thus, people did not receive medical attention. They remained unprotected. Wr have to learn from this crisis.
Am so sorry for your loss and the lack of closure of not saying goodbye to your mother. Generally elderly residences, prisons and schools have high infection rates when it comes to respiratory viral infection. Even the flu has higher mobility and mortality, hence the deliberate policy to vaccinate these populations for influenza and other common threats. Unfortunately, the novel virus had so many unknowns about possible virulence In the beginning. Schools closed, but care homes had so many caregivers and suppliers, who were probably asymptotic and spreading the virus. The kind of complete lockdown that isolated the vulnerable people may have led to lack of supplies over time and support staff would have to be quarantined in the facilities, which is hard if they were sole caregivers at home. Even then, some people may have been infected before the alarm was raised.
This was surely a hard lesson for the world to learn from. No one could have imagined the level of devastation that would occur. The situation is a little different for us in Africa. Some countries went in complete lockdown very early, based on statistics in Europe, many households ran out of supplies long before the expected infection peak rates. The lockdowns have been eased to reduce malnutrition in the vulnerable populations. It's a pity that supportive treatment was not offered to the patients, to avoid infecting them. We need to come up with better preventive measures for the future and ensure that our health systems can cope with sudden surges of patients with provisions of adequate PPE for health workers. My condolences once again.
Dear Takondwa:
Thank you very much for your kind response. I totally agree with your detailed explanation. Another model of care for the future is needed in these places for the elderly. Thank you very much for your condolences and solidarity in these hard times for me.
Sincerely,
Silvia
As the immunity is getting poor with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc... and most of the elderly people suffering from those.
Neglect by the relatives (by not keeping social distancing, not wearing masks, not using hand hygiene, and bringing children, who may be asymptomatic infected carriers visiting the vulnerable elderly in care homes or in household settings in the times of COVID-19 pandemic, are the some of the few causes of spread of COVID-19 in the elderly and the deaths. Compared to hospitals, the healthcare staff were not using PPE and other health measures, as seen in the USA.
Article COVID-19 in nursing homes
Article COVID‐19 Preparedness in Nursing Homes in the Midst of the Pandemic
Absolute negligence in strategic national plan to protect them and give them extra support. WHO was also confused at the initial stage to make confirm decision and make delay too. Of course individual issues are also there for not caring about the severity of COVID-19.
Thanks and feel guilty too for the failure to protect your mom in this crisis.
10 June MMXX
In Italy, the deaths of individuals in nursing home residences is a national scandal that is intertwined with graft and corruption of both businessmen and women and political reprsentative.
ASJ
Thank you Anthony St. John I agree with this answer. The same thing happens in Spain. Probably "the order" to sacrifice immobile and severely affected people was a "global" order. The same thing happened in Romania, where my mother died in a nursing home, alone and isolated. I will never forgive this ...
Revered Professor Dr. Silvia Marcus,
First of all, I am really saddened and really painful to hear the information that you have lost your beloved mother in Romania during the pandemic periods even very close to the border of European Union.
Most of the aged and elderly people have an internal ailments already that they have in their physique and they were not susceptible to live against this Corona virus.
The elderly people immune power getting diminished at the old age and they don't have to protect themselves from this virus pandemics.
They are easily trapped out by this virus to kill them quickly. It is very sympathetic situations all our beloved mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters have disappeared from this world during pandemics.
None can help them with available medicines and they were easily vulnerable to lead their life against this virus.
This is the fate of the 21st century people in the world have faced worst tragedy at the end of the second decade.
The Statistics telling about the death rate in each country which is unbelievable. The affected one were the mostly aged people only.
This virus 🦠🦟 pandemic are out of the control of the WHO and UN organizations.
Regards
Senapathy
Ethiopia