Over 70s to self isolate

[Dodie66]

Over 70s are going to be told to self isolate even if they don’t have the virus and this will be coming in 5-20 days and last 4 months
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-coronavirus-over-70s-told-21694397?fbclid=IwAR2k9MqPf7vOzNcnqfVroLXVp0sQjYRmihHKBiL9pvdhSi5780WpYkgFNnI

[]www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/]]

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Look at the figures to see why this makes sense. 7% critical of active cases is those requiring ventilatory support either invasive (full ventilation) or non-invasive (BiPAP, CPAP). That is a huge percentage of the population, we only have 4000 ITU beds nationally for adults. The majority of people requiring support with breathing would be 70+ in age if you look at the death rate figures. Slowing down transmission to the most vulnerable groups who are in the main retired by asking them to self isolate, whilst allowing working age adults less at risk to keep financially supporting their families and children to stay in school/childcare makes sense. The alternative is healthcare staff and essential workers (food supply chain, medication supply chain etc...) being unable to work due to childcare issues which would impact care and services significantly at the time when it is most needed.

My dad is 70 he's still works full time ,plays team sport three times a week and goes to the gym....he was skiing in January !!! His wife is 55 and his daughter 19 ....not all 70 year olds are vulnerable

It’s amazing reading all of this. Thankfully so many people are expressing genuine concern and empathy for older people but there are sadly some disgusting ageist comments along the lines of ‘they’ve had their time, let ‘em die.’ (Paraphrasing of course).

Those who are banging on about kids’ exams! For goodness sake! There will be another year, another set of exams! Young people have a lifetime to recover from all of this.

It’s heartbreaking that in a so called civilised country there is so little respect or care for elderly people. This is another sickening symptom of how older people are treated in our ‘caring’ society. Older people are referred to as ‘bed blockers’, ‘coffin dodgers’ and worse. Since I retired from clinical nursing I have been involved in care home inspections and it is so sad to meet elderly people who get no visitors despite having big families. I listen to lovely old folk who make excuses for their offspring and their lack of interest in them, but I see the sadness in their faces. I meet some families who’s only concern is whether the cost of the care home will take all their greedily anticipated ‘inheritance.’

Thankfully this is not true of everyone and those who really care for elderly parents and grandparents warm my heart. Old people might not have the smooth skin and sweet smell of a little child but does that make them less human? Less deserving of kindness?

For the rest of you sickening ageists, be careful what you wish for - you will be old sooner than you think.

@ivykaty44 they are missing the point. The point is we do not have enough ventilators. They will be left to die if they get it. And that is not a nice death. This is a war. We all need to pull together to help our health system not go under. Think of all those health care workers who are going to be exhausted and dying themselves treating patients. Please work together and explain why they should self-isolate. I am not sure they will get the choice either. Emergency powers are being put into place.

@Lulu1919 please don’t be under a false sense of security. This disease statistically gets the older generation. Even if you look fit and healthy. Please please explain why they need to self isolate. We are going to have people dying in corridors with no treatment. We have to work together to flatten the curve and protect our health workers.

@Lincolnfield I am heartened by the number of community groups that have been set up in the last 24 hours to identify those that will need help. Please can everyone play their part here. A neighbour and I are doing a street visit today to identify anyone that is over 70 or health vulnerable that will be in self isolation and need support. Please let’s pull together. It’s the only way we are going to beat this and look civilised.

Ah @ivykaty I didn’t mean you - I meant the original PP who wrote this. Sorry.

If / when my parents isolate we will have to give them a tutorial on how to video call first. I'll also sort out a raised bed for my mum to grow veggies. I'll set up a rotating with my siblings to do shopping for them.

@Bool NOBODY will be ‘left to die!’ Again, alarmist claptrap. People may no be ventilated BUT worst case scenario there will be pain relief and palliative care for those when either the prognosis is poor or there is no high dependency support available.

People won’t just be left dying in the gutter. God’s sake! Stop scaremongering.

@planningaheadtoday it is this kind of attitude that is making me wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. It is petrifying. I am dreading the photos and stories that we are going to see in the next few months. This is war. It will look like a war zone. Please try be explain to them again that they need to self isolate. This is unprecedented.

@ifonly4 I think we can safely not rely on the government for ‘back up plans to help the elderly’. We will need to do this ourselves. Set up community groups to help them. If we are self isolating ourselves we will need friend back ups. This is no time for complacency and looking to government to keep us alive. We have to keep us alive ourselves.

@definitelygc it is this attitude which has crippled Italy. Schools closing and the grandkids going to the grandparents. The elderly are dying in their droves there because culturally families stick together. Young with old. The young are the carriers. They take it to the old and they are dying. I know. I have family there and they still are not understanding why people keep dying. All whilst looking after Their grandkids.

@Shenandoah9 yes completely agree with everything and yes your mum is being childish and selfish.

@Shenandoah9 maybe she should have seen the woman in Spain on the news yesterday who was being refused treatment who was outside a hospital unable to breath. Her children trying to comfort her all around her. This is no joke. This is coming. Please let’s protect the over 70s and health vulnerable or they will die a horrible death.

@tryingtoprep I am not sure which country you are looking to emulate but Italy is on its knees. And a big reason is because they are not protecting their most vulnerable - the elderly and the immunocompromised. Culturally the grandparents are together with the family in lockdown. It is a disaster. We need to urgently protect those who are statistically much more likely to suffer (the over 70s and immunocompromised). Literally hide them away. Then we can carry on running the country. This is going to go on for MONTHS. you cannot simply lock everyone away for month. Think of all the business that will go bust. How people will be able to afford food. This is a sensible approach and we need to now stop whining and protect them.

When people’s body’s age they can stay flexible & active but unfortunately science doesn’t change and an older body will struggle with disease if caught with this particular pandemic.
Spanish flu hit at 20 year old the worse, it didn’t matter that they were young and fit they still died in their thousands, probably didn’t help they’d had 4 years of war

@Kayagh and of course doing this will protect the younger health vulnerable who cannot self isolate (altho it would be recommended). It will protect them because if they do become ill and need a ventilator they are more likely to get one because there will be fewer over 70s on them. We have 5000 ventilators in this country. 5000. That keeps me away at night. Do you realise what that means? So anybody who is vulnerable and self-isolating means one fewer potential person on one of those ventilators. This is scary people. 5000! Think about it. Across the entire country!!

@Lincolnfield. This country has 5000 ventilators. Explain your maths please. People won’t be given a ventilator when we get to 5000. It is keeping me awake at night. It is why all engineering companies have been asked to make ventilators now. How the hell can they do that? And yes in Italy the over 80s are now being refused treatment. Read this. And they have MORE BEDS AND VENTILATORS than the uk.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/14/italians-80-will-left-die-country-overwhelmed-coronavirus/

@Lincolnfield you may be relaxed. But this is the time to act. Now. Not in 2 months when it is too late. It scares me that people are not being sensible and taking this seriously. This is why China has to literally drag people. They can do that because of their undemocratic system. I would like to think people here would be sensible enough to do it for themselves. But seems not. I for one now welcome the emergency powers the government is going to get this week.

@Lincolnfield we are about to see the BIGGEST global humanitarian crisis of our generation. People are laughing and saying they will hide their head in a scarf to stop protecting themselves and others. I think the time is to scaremonger no? I am glad the government is petrified. I am glad they are saying we only have 5000 ventilators. If we don’t start scaring people now with what is happening in Italy and Spain then we are going to scar ourselves for life. What we are about to see it going to be traumatic for ourselves and our kids. So if people need a bit of scaremongering today to get with the programme then so be it.

My dad is in his seventies, still works and goes on big walking holidays but I'm worried about him. He got a bad cold last year and it knocked him flat on his back. It's not about being vulnerable, people over 70 just have old, tired immune systems that can't fight things off as well. Also don't forget older men are considerably more likely to die from coronavirus than older women as their immune systems are weaker.

Whatever approach is taken relies on people doing what they're bloody told. We don't have the police resources to actually properly enforce lockdowns everywhere so whether it's heavy duty lock down, in between measures, over 70s, stay home if you have symptoms, people need to do what they're asked.

@statisticallychallenged. That is so true. Please let’s stop relying on the government and take personal responsibility for our safety. And help others. The most vulnerable.

Exactly. The government is obviously taking non compliance in to account with their modelling - they've said as much. If fewer people comply than anticipated then their measures will be less effective. On the flip side if people are more compliant then they'll work better than projected.

@Bool please read what I actually said. I have Not mentioned ventilation at all. I repeat - people in the terminal stages will be provided with pain relief and palliative care. Morphine, fentanyl and other opiates which will ease passing do not depend on ventilators.

As for being relaxed? What do you propose? That we all run up and down the streets screaming dementedly?

I guess we won’t be seeing you helping elderly neighbours any time soon? 😂😂

@lincolnfield. What I propose is that we take this seriously and help those who are most vulnerable. And yes now you have asked there you are wrong. A neighbour and I did a full house to house call in around three streets in the area yesterday to identify any elderly person who needs help. We have done a full rota system to help them between now and summer. I have also mobilised my closest friends to do the same in their areas. You?