“Elderly people living in care institutions in Europe account for up to half of all coronavirus deaths”

In Europe, from Spain to Serbia, nursing homes have become hotspots for COVID-19 infection. According to the World Health Organization, the number of residents of long-term care institutions in Europe falls to half of all coronavirus deaths in Europe, according to Alana Armitage, director of the UN Population Fund’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office. It should be noted that the article is more than relevant in Armenia in the context of information about coronavirus disease found in more than 40 elderly people living in Nork Retirement Home, as well as in some of the staff.

In the heartbreaking statistics of life-destroying viruses around the world, this figure remains a stumbling block for me. It sheds light on the incredible tragedy that is happening before our eyes, but surprisingly little attention is paid to it by society.

Elderly people in care institutions make up only a small percentage of the general population in Germany, for example, barely 1%, while it is the country with the largest number of beds in Europe’s nursing homes. This allows us to understand how absurdly overcrowded the residents of nursing homes are.

The elderly, in general, suffer seriously from the pandemic. COVID-19 threatens them with serious illness, and about 95% of co-morbid deaths are in people over 60 years of age. This is one of the reasons why in Europe, in the region with the largest share of the world’s elderly, the epidemic is raging with such momentum. And the elderly are not just facing a health crisis. Maintaining physical distance (which is mistakenly called social distance) to stop the virus also has a disproportionate effect on their lives and well-being, as many are cut off from the services, support, and caregivers they depend on.

Often overlooked and out of sight, the elderly living in care homes are among the most vulnerable. We hear heartbreaking stories about people dying in loneliness without having their relatives by their side, sometimes with only minimal care from overcrowded and underfunded institutions.

These tragedies in the care homes are just one, albeit extreme, expression of our widespread failure in the elderly. The pandemic pointed out the failure, but it did not start with COVID-19. As countries age rapidly in Europe – one in four people over the age of 60 – societies are trying to create conditions for a growing number of older people to thrive and stay healthy and active in both community and public life.

I hope that this crisis and the terrible consequences it has for many elderly people will be a turning point in terms of how we see and treat the elderly in society. At the United Nations Population Fund, we work tirelessly with our government and civil society partners, not just to support the elderly during the epidemic, but also to ensure that their dignity and rights are protected, that they remain integrated and involved in their communities.

Many countries are now trying to figure out how to turn the crisis into an opportunity. There are four main steps that the authorities can take to make this happen:

1. By giving priority to the protection of the elderly in COVID-19 responds. This could include sending unequivocal messages to the public about the equal rights of older people, advocating for dignity, and taking bold steps to show that the state’s commitment is not empty words. Ensuring the continuity of services, the support of guardians, the use of digital technology to reach people in isolation – a lot can be done to alleviate the consequences of the crisis.
2. Listen to the voices of the elderly. In responding to the crisis and developing policies for the future, we must listen to what the elderly are saying. Involving community members is vital to avoiding bias and finding solutions to real needs.
3. Contradicting discrimination in public discourse due to age in practice. There can be no tolerance for common age discrimination and negative stereotypes that have become more apparent during this crisis. The proliferation of interdisciplinary solidarity and valuable contributions to the elderly and assistance to others will be key to changing social norms and attitudes.
4. Armed with the lens of age, review legal and policy regulations and budgets. The time has come for us to look beyond the crisis and understand what needs to change in areas such as healthcare, education, employment and social security so that countries find themselves in a more favorable position in terms of overcoming the rapid demographic change, while ensuring the rights of the aging population and the possibility of choice.

Let’s be clear. The deaths of so many elderly people during this crisis were not inevitable. It was, as a society, a structure and a culture, a direct consequence of our failure to give value and importance to the life and well-being of the older generation. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past and take seriously the construction of a society for all ages, where the elderly are recognized and supported as key pillars of society: teachers and counselors, caregivers and volunteers, philologists and creators, cultural transmitters and fighters for rights, which sometimes seems to us to be self-evident. In aging Europe, we simply cannot afford to let out a quarter of the population with all their skills, talents and other investments. Providing the elderly with the same rights and dignity is not only morally imperative, but mutually beneficial for everyone, equally for the elderly and the young.

Source:

Message of UN Population Fund Armenian office

PS According to Alina Nikoghosyan, spokeswoman for the RA Minister of Health, on May 16, “Coronavirus disease was found in more than 40 senior members of the Nork Retirement Home, as well as in some of the staff.” “Of course, this is a very dangerous source of disease, given the age of the patients and the chronic diseases that accompany it. For two days now, the doctors of St. Gregory the Illuminator Medical Center have been working on the spot to assess and monitor the health condition of the patients. As of today, they are being transported to hospitals for further treatment, ”she wrote on his Facebook page.