Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our way of interacting with each other has changed drastically. While some locations are easing restrictions, we still need to distance ourselves socially reduce our rate of infection and flatten the curve. However, the elderly still need assistance and socialization during these times.

Ways To Keep Your Elderly Loved Ones Safe During COVID-19

One comparison for the spread of COVID-19 is glitter as it is hard to get rid of and it gets everywhere without proper precautions. You somehow get it on your shoes or your clothes from somewhere or someone. You unknowingly carry the glitter to other people and surfaces. If it gets on someone’s skin, they are infected and fall ill, if it is just in their hair they are an asymptomatic carrier.

The best way to prevent the spread is to thoroughly clean anything that may have come into contact with the glitter and to keep yourself covered. Below are six ways to keep your elderly loved ones safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Limit Your Visits

Your elderly loved one could be your favorite person in the world who you visit all the time. Limiting your visits and the time during those visits also limits potential exposure to both them and you. The incubation period for COVID-19 is 5 to 6 days on average, but it can also take as long as 14 days.

2. But Keep In Contact

While you may have to stay apart physically, there are other ways to stay in touch with someone. If your loved one already has a live-in caretaker, the caretaker can provide them with some company in between your visits. If your loved one lives alone, then keep in touch with them through phone calls. If they can use technology well enough, then you can keep in contact through video chats or even emails.

3. Make It Easy To Stay Home

When people need groceries or supplies, their natural inclination is to leave their homes and go grocery shopping. Staying at home is the safest place for our elderly loved ones to be. Instead, you or a caregiver can run errands and stock their home with supplies and cook meals for them to eat.

4. Reassure Them

Your loved ones will be worrying about how they will stay safe during this pandemic. Reassure them that you will be there to help them and that support is available, but you may need to keep your distance when you visit them sometimes.

5. Help Them Learn What To Do

Since they won’t be able to do their normal activities outside the home, it is best to help them find hobbies and activities to keep them busy inside. If they live on their own, show them how to properly disinfect and clean surfaces, tell them to wash their hands regularly, and to cover a cough or a sneeze.

6. Teach Them What To Look For

While coughing and sneezing are natural reflexes, they are also how COVID spreads. Other ways are:

• Loud Speaking
• Touching a contaminated surface, even skin,
• Blowing one’s nose.

Inform and remind them of COVID-19 symptoms such as:

• Difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• New loss of smell or taste
• And others.

By following these steps, your loved one has a greater chance to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. While they may be socially distanced from people, they will know they are not unsupported, isolated, or forgotten.