Preventive Measures for Older People Against Pandemic

Among the adults, the hazards for drastic illness caused by pandemic rises with their age, and the elder most adults are at the highest risk. Serious illness signifies that the person suffering pandemic might need to get hospitalised, an intensive care unit, a ventilator for helping them in breathing or they can die. 

Why does the risk of dire illness increase with age? 

With you becoming older, the risk for serious disease from the Pandemic rises. For instance, the people who are in their 50s are at greater risk of serious illness than the people who are in their 40s. Numerous factors can increase the risk of suffering such a dangerous illness as having an acute medical condition hence getting it checked regularly with immigration medical especially in a city like Toronto. If you understand the factors which increase your risk you can take such decisions regarding the type of precautionary measures to be taken in your everyday life. 

What are the ways to lessen down the risk? 

There are a few ways in which the risk of you getting contracted this deadly disease can decrease. These ways are mentioned below as follows: 

Encouragement of social distancing 

• Visiting family and friends as regularly as possible. In case it is not possible you can make the room properly ventilated. 
• Arrangement of chairs and tables to let people follow social distancing. Members belonging to the same family can stand together in groups without getting distanced. 
• Go for activities in which social distancing can be followed like yard games or chalk art. 
• Try avoiding getting into close contact with the visitors. Avoid hand to hand contact and greet them verbally instead of hugging with the number of cases rising in Toronto. 

Don’t forget to wear masks 

• You should always wear the mask on your mouth and nose. Masks are particularly essential when you cannot stay a minimum of 6 feet aloof from each other or when a lot of people are indoors for helping the protection of others. 
• Masks might help slow down the speed at which the virus is spreading and helping people who can have the virus don’t even know you are carrying the infection. 
• Kids who are below the age of 2 or any person who finds trouble in breathing, have suffocation or in unconscious or doesn’t have capacitation or is not able to remove their mask without proper assistance. 

Frequent hand washing 

• Everybody must wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds in the beginning as well as the end of the visit session and when you think your hands have become infected.
• Is water and soap cannot be availed like outdoor visiting or activities, using a hand sanitizer which consists of a minimum of 60% alcohol. You should get the hand surface covered by rubbing them together until you feel they are completely dry.
• Reminding the visitors to sanitise or wash their hands before eating or serving food. 
• Using one-time use hand tissues or paper towels for getting the hands dried up so that the guests don’t have to share the towels. If possible, arrange a no-touch waste bin for the guests to use. 

Restrict contact with frequently touched surfaces 

• Encouraging your guests to get their drinks and food. 
• Disinfect and clean the frequently touched items along with shared items in between uses. 
• When you are about to use a shared item that can be reused then you must clean, wash, and sanitize them before use. 

Are you planning to participate in a gathering: 

If you are planning to take part in a gathering or an event you must get yourself checked and tested for any kind of illness considering highly risky crowds and you also need to get checked with immigration medical. The risk level of PANDEMIC keeps rising in the following ways: 

• Low risk. Only virtual activities, gatherings, and events.
• High risk. Small outdoor crowds in which people from various families must follow at least 6 feet space within each other. Wearing masks is compulsory.
• Higher risk. Medium level crowds that can be adapted to permit the individual for remaining distant minimum of 6 feet aloof from each other. 
• Highest risk: Big crowds in Toronto which it is tough to remain distant from each other can possess the highest risk of getting people infected.  

What are the symptoms? 

In a few cases, the elder adults along with people of different age groups with acute health concerns might show symptoms that are generally not found in other people or they might need a longer period to develop the symptoms. 

What are the ways to reduce the chances of getting sick?  

The steps that can help you in reducing the chances of getting sick are as follows: 

• Don’t sneeze or cough without covering your nose and mouth and wash your hands thereafter.
• Maintain at least 6 feet space in between yourself and other people. 
• Don’t touch your mouth, eyes, and nose with unclean hands. 
• Follow precautionary steps wherever you go. 
• Practice frequent cleaning and disinfecting surfaces whenever you touch them. 

Facilities for older adults 

In case you or a member of your family in Toronto that lives in a hospital or at a place where senior citizens live you might have high concerns regarding COVID-19. For protecting your family members and friends in such areas, CDC has recommended the long term care services which include: 

• Restriction for guests 
• Recommending the visitors to wear masks 
• Asking the Frontline workers to get regular health check-ups.
• Postpone unimportant activities to prevent crowding. 

As we all know, the pandemic has hit the entire world so hard in 2020 that we are yet not able to recover the loss. Even to date, the count of people getting contracted this deadly infection is increasing with every passing day. It is hazardous for people of all age groups, but the most prone people to this are children below 5 years and senior citizens above 50. Hence, it is recommended in Toronto to abide by the precautionary measures like immigration medical for keeping yourself safe besides others. 

Helen Bradfield did her degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She has an ongoing interest in mental health and well-being.