There’s no doubt this is a challenging time, impacting us on so many levels. At times it feels like a bad sci-fi film or a dream. But it’s our reality: most of us have already been put out — in small ways for most and for others, more dramatic – by the fast developments of the coronavirus as it wends its way across the world and into our communities.
Every day the cases are growing and we are receiving new advice. But one thing has been clear and unchanging from the get-go: older people are most at risk of death.
Last week, my 91-year-old grandma Emmie called me, confused, from the supermarket. She said there was no toilet paper or the regular meat she buys on the shelves, and asked if I knew what was going on.
Like many older people, she visits the supermarket every few days and buys just enough to carry home in her walker. She’s not on social media and rarely watches the news, so I had to explain people were losing their minds and over-buying in response to COVID-19.
Watch: Mamamia’s The Quicky host Claire Murphy breaks down your most asked questions about COVID-19. Post continues below.
This call made me both angry and disappointed in humanity. I felt angry that as a society, the response of some people to uncertainty is to grab as much as they can, with no thought to anyone else; particularly our most vulnerable people, and especially older people.