Elderly Loneliness
Older adults have been instructed to limit face-to-face interactions with individuals outside their immediate household to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 has forced many family members to end visits to parents and grandparents or stop visiting older loved ones at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
The implementation of physical distancing is an essential step in reducing transmission of the virus. But in an effort to flatten the curve, physical distancing may be causing social isolation and loneliness. Although loneliness and social isolation can affect anyone regardless of age, the elderly are particularly vulnerable, especially under the current conditions of the pandemic.