This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/nyregion/coronavirus-elderly-nyc.html
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| ‘I’m Really Isolated Now’: When Elders Have to Fight Coronavirus Alone | ‘I’m Really Isolated Now’: When Elders Have to Fight Coronavirus Alone |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| At the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Monday morning, a trickle of older New Yorkers, some pushing walkers or riding in mobility scooters, arrived to bad news. All group activities were canceled. Lunch was strictly to go. | At the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Monday morning, a trickle of older New Yorkers, some pushing walkers or riding in mobility scooters, arrived to bad news. All group activities were canceled. Lunch was strictly to go. |
| A worker wearing a plaid shirt and a surgical mask handed a meal to a woman, then urged her to move along: “You can’t hang out at the center today.” | A worker wearing a plaid shirt and a surgical mask handed a meal to a woman, then urged her to move along: “You can’t hang out at the center today.” |
| Anna Reifman, 69, took a meal to warm in her toaster oven. Ms. Reifman, like many at the center, lives alone. | Anna Reifman, 69, took a meal to warm in her toaster oven. Ms. Reifman, like many at the center, lives alone. |
| “I’m really isolated now,” she said. “This isn’t just about lunch. I come here to talk to people other than my cat.” | “I’m really isolated now,” she said. “This isn’t just about lunch. I come here to talk to people other than my cat.” |
| New York is an aging city, and in many ways, it’s a good place to be an older person: There is plenty of public transportation and ample medical care. But the city is unprepared for what it faces today. New York has 1.73 million residents over age 60, more than the total population of Boston and San Francisco combined, with a demographic profile that is getting poorer and older. The coronavirus pandemic stretches the gaps in a system already under pressure. | New York is an aging city, and in many ways, it’s a good place to be an older person: There is plenty of public transportation and ample medical care. But the city is unprepared for what it faces today. New York has 1.73 million residents over age 60, more than the total population of Boston and San Francisco combined, with a demographic profile that is getting poorer and older. The coronavirus pandemic stretches the gaps in a system already under pressure. |
| Shortages in supermarkets, closures in public facilities — all take an extra toll on elders, especially those with limited means: One in five New Yorkers over age 65 lives in poverty, twice the national average. The difficulties cascade: When schools close, home-care workers have to stay with their children, leaving frail elders isolated in homes they cannot manage. | Shortages in supermarkets, closures in public facilities — all take an extra toll on elders, especially those with limited means: One in five New Yorkers over age 65 lives in poverty, twice the national average. The difficulties cascade: When schools close, home-care workers have to stay with their children, leaving frail elders isolated in homes they cannot manage. |
| All of it rests on an especially fragile work force of volunteers and low-wage workers who provide essential meals, home care, and social companionship to elders at home — exposed to long subway rides and managing their own child care. If they falter, there is often no net below for their clients. | All of it rests on an especially fragile work force of volunteers and low-wage workers who provide essential meals, home care, and social companionship to elders at home — exposed to long subway rides and managing their own child care. If they falter, there is often no net below for their clients. |
| For 30,000 elders each day, senior centers were an outlet from their homes. And now, by order of the mayor, all on-site activities are closed, though the centers can still provide meals to go. | For 30,000 elders each day, senior centers were an outlet from their homes. And now, by order of the mayor, all on-site activities are closed, though the centers can still provide meals to go. |
| “I started crying when I told the seniors we were closing down,” said Judy Zangwill, executive director of Sunnyside Community Services, which closed its senior center except for pickup food service last Friday, ahead of instructions from the city. “I heard audible moans.” | “I started crying when I told the seniors we were closing down,” said Judy Zangwill, executive director of Sunnyside Community Services, which closed its senior center except for pickup food service last Friday, ahead of instructions from the city. “I heard audible moans.” |
| It is a terrible irony of the virus: that for older adults, steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19 increase the risks of social isolation, which carries its own devastating health effects. A study by the AARP compared the effects of prolonged isolation to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. | It is a terrible irony of the virus: that for older adults, steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19 increase the risks of social isolation, which carries its own devastating health effects. A study by the AARP compared the effects of prolonged isolation to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. |
| Normally programs for elders aim to increase human contact. Now that contact is potentially deadly. | Normally programs for elders aim to increase human contact. Now that contact is potentially deadly. |
| Nursing homes and assisted-living buildings, by order of the city’s health department, banned visitors, including in many cases residents’ private aides. Public libraries, houses of worship, neighborhood cafes — all social spots for elders — are also closed, pushing older people back into what are often lonely apartments: 30 percent of New Yorkers over 65, and 43 percent of those over 85, live alone, according to the Department for the Aging. | Nursing homes and assisted-living buildings, by order of the city’s health department, banned visitors, including in many cases residents’ private aides. Public libraries, houses of worship, neighborhood cafes — all social spots for elders — are also closed, pushing older people back into what are often lonely apartments: 30 percent of New Yorkers over 65, and 43 percent of those over 85, live alone, according to the Department for the Aging. |
| Sarah Arico, a regular at Sunnyside’s senior center, said the closing was “very hard to deal with emotionally.” She goes to the center for photography, for exercise classes, for the mental health group and “a good lunch.” | Sarah Arico, a regular at Sunnyside’s senior center, said the closing was “very hard to deal with emotionally.” She goes to the center for photography, for exercise classes, for the mental health group and “a good lunch.” |
| Last Friday, all of that came to a halt. “It is more isolating,” she said. Without the center, she was turning her attention to her dog and to phone calls with friends. | Last Friday, all of that came to a halt. “It is more isolating,” she said. Without the center, she was turning her attention to her dog and to phone calls with friends. |
| When she picked up food at the center, she said, the staff instructed everyone on line to stand six feet apart. | When she picked up food at the center, she said, the staff instructed everyone on line to stand six feet apart. |
| “Everybody was freaking out.” | “Everybody was freaking out.” |
| But Ms. Arico said that she was making sure she walked outside, using physical activity to bolster her mental health. | But Ms. Arico said that she was making sure she walked outside, using physical activity to bolster her mental health. |
| “It’s a completely different way of living,” she said. “But I know we are going to get through this. I try to say, nothing is forever, not the good times, not the bad times. We all try to get through.” | “It’s a completely different way of living,” she said. “But I know we are going to get through this. I try to say, nothing is forever, not the good times, not the bad times. We all try to get through.” |
| As much as the activities and the hot meals, senior centers provide structure in lives that may not otherwise have it, said Ruth Finkelstein, executive director of the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter College. “The way we remember to do something is that it’s tied to something else,” Ms. Finkelstein said. “When that gets disrupted, it disrupts when we eat, which disrupts our sleep, which disrupts whether we take our medications. | As much as the activities and the hot meals, senior centers provide structure in lives that may not otherwise have it, said Ruth Finkelstein, executive director of the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter College. “The way we remember to do something is that it’s tied to something else,” Ms. Finkelstein said. “When that gets disrupted, it disrupts when we eat, which disrupts our sleep, which disrupts whether we take our medications. |
| Updated June 24, 2020 | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| “We see this with the way older people experience delirium in the hospital after just a few days of disruption. I’m not saying the current disruption will come to that, but once the disruption starts, it’s very difficult to dam it.” | “We see this with the way older people experience delirium in the hospital after just a few days of disruption. I’m not saying the current disruption will come to that, but once the disruption starts, it’s very difficult to dam it.” |
| At JASA’s Club 76 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, run by the Jewish Association Serving the Aging, Stu Lahn said, “My family is being very hard on me because I’m not being as careful as they would want me to be.” Mr. Lahn said he was most disturbed by not knowing what would happen next. He could replace his social activities at the center using the telephone, but the uncertainty made him feel a loss of control, which in older people can be particularly damaging. | At JASA’s Club 76 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, run by the Jewish Association Serving the Aging, Stu Lahn said, “My family is being very hard on me because I’m not being as careful as they would want me to be.” Mr. Lahn said he was most disturbed by not knowing what would happen next. He could replace his social activities at the center using the telephone, but the uncertainty made him feel a loss of control, which in older people can be particularly damaging. |
| “What’s hard is thinking about how long it’s going to last,” he said. “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow — it’s the unknown that’s scary.” | “What’s hard is thinking about how long it’s going to last,” he said. “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow — it’s the unknown that’s scary.” |
| Mr. Lahn, who is 79, normally runs the center’s Monday bingo program with an older woman who survived the Holocaust. (She did not feel up to being interviewed for this article.) Since the center closed last week, he has been checking up on her by telephone. “I’m wondering at times whether the Holocaust survivors are better prepared than we are for this,” he said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.” | Mr. Lahn, who is 79, normally runs the center’s Monday bingo program with an older woman who survived the Holocaust. (She did not feel up to being interviewed for this article.) Since the center closed last week, he has been checking up on her by telephone. “I’m wondering at times whether the Holocaust survivors are better prepared than we are for this,” he said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.” |
| Stephanie Cacioppo, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, who studies loneliness and social isolation, said that the sense of losing control in the pandemic was both harmful and treatable. Social distance need not lead to social isolation, she said. “You can train your brain like you train your body,” she said. | Stephanie Cacioppo, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, who studies loneliness and social isolation, said that the sense of losing control in the pandemic was both harmful and treatable. Social distance need not lead to social isolation, she said. “You can train your brain like you train your body,” she said. |
| Caregivers and family members should try to help elders feel in control of the precautions they are being told to take, so that they feel involved rather than punished by the new rules, she said. She also recommended asking about public health crises they lived through in the past, including polio or tuberculosis, even SARS or the H1N1 flu. | Caregivers and family members should try to help elders feel in control of the precautions they are being told to take, so that they feel involved rather than punished by the new rules, she said. She also recommended asking about public health crises they lived through in the past, including polio or tuberculosis, even SARS or the H1N1 flu. |
| Clear information helps; alarmist news programs, on the other hand, can make people feel helpless. In a nursing home or assisted-living building, rumors run wild. “Just having someone giving you an update every three hours, saying I’ll see you later, gives people a sense that there is a future,” Ms. Cacioppo said. “It makes seniors not feel abandoned. They see themselves not as objects, but as contributing.” | Clear information helps; alarmist news programs, on the other hand, can make people feel helpless. In a nursing home or assisted-living building, rumors run wild. “Just having someone giving you an update every three hours, saying I’ll see you later, gives people a sense that there is a future,” Ms. Cacioppo said. “It makes seniors not feel abandoned. They see themselves not as objects, but as contributing.” |
| Lujira Cooper, 72, said she felt this control slipping away. She goes three or four days a week to the Edie Windsor SAGE Center in Midtown Manhattan, the first full-time senior center for LGBT older adults. The center’s closing was a reversal of the common aging experience: She was staying healthy but the social world around her was unraveling. | Lujira Cooper, 72, said she felt this control slipping away. She goes three or four days a week to the Edie Windsor SAGE Center in Midtown Manhattan, the first full-time senior center for LGBT older adults. The center’s closing was a reversal of the common aging experience: She was staying healthy but the social world around her was unraveling. |
| Also, she missed the arguing and the birthday celebrations — hers was scheduled for later this month. | Also, she missed the arguing and the birthday celebrations — hers was scheduled for later this month. |
| “I can clean my house and work on a book I’m supposed to be writing,” she said, “but it’s the missing of talking to people in another setting. I don’t mind being by myself. I mind being forced to be by myself. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t be around people.” | “I can clean my house and work on a book I’m supposed to be writing,” she said, “but it’s the missing of talking to people in another setting. I don’t mind being by myself. I mind being forced to be by myself. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t be around people.” |
| She liked to eavesdrop on people in museums and restaurants — gone. She wondered whether, when the virus receded, people would hug again, or if the practice would disappear. She felt a loss of herself as much as other people, she said. “When you can’t be around people altogether, and people are afraid of catching something, it creates a self-imposed prison.” | She liked to eavesdrop on people in museums and restaurants — gone. She wondered whether, when the virus receded, people would hug again, or if the practice would disappear. She felt a loss of herself as much as other people, she said. “When you can’t be around people altogether, and people are afraid of catching something, it creates a self-imposed prison.” |
| Alex Vadukul contributed reporting. | Alex Vadukul contributed reporting. |