Virus fear: elderly taken to villages as schools reopen

Dar es Salaam. The opening of schools draws closer. Mr Mshamu Hassan, a city resident, fears for the lives of his 73-year-old father and 67-year-old mother whom he is taking care of in Dar es Salaam.

“I have kids who will be going to school daily, yet, I cannot guarantee their safety and protection against coronavirus infection at school,” says Mr Hassan, 38.

The resident of Mbagala suburb says he is preparing to take his parents back to village because he sees they are at a greater risk of contracting the coronavirus as all primary and secondary schools reopen on Monday 29 June, 2020.

“When the government announced that it was opening schools, my parents began fearing how they would live with the children as it has been in the days when they were only limited at home,’’ he tells The Citizen.

“We have arrived at a decision that they can be safer if they are taken away from the children and now my task is to arrange for their medical insurance.”

The elderly and people with underlying chronic conditions are more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Mr Hassan believes his parents would be safer in the village where there will be limited interactions with people at high risk of carrying the virus.

But the government has allayed the kind of fears that Mr Hassan and many other people harbour on how they would protect the elderly and people with underlaying conditions when schools reopen.

The authorities have issued Covid-19 prevention guidelines to ensure virus spread is halted amid the ongoing battle against the pandemic, which, they say, has gone down drastically.

The guidelines which were issued recently by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, among other things, require schools to ensure the availability of all essential equipment and facilities for curbing the spread of the respiratory disease.

The guidelines also direct decontamination of school premises, at least 72 hours before students report back, and call for regular inspections by regional and district public health officials to ensure that all precautionary measures are observed.

However, Mr Hassan believes that it’s safer in a village than in a congested city like Dar es Salaam. He says even if the children may not contract the virus at school, traffic congestion is still a challenge and they are likely to be infected while travelling back home and would in the end infect the parents.

“For the boarding students, the reopening is even safer. But for the day scholars, it would be riskier so to our elders. I feel that at the village, they (the elderly) will be safe because the place is not too exposed as compared to a city like Dar es Salaam,” he says.

What reports say

Reports indicate that the coronavirus disease has brought about unprecedented fear and uncertainty, especially among older adults.

According to the US-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information, and clinical expertise about Covid-19, older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness.

The United Nations (UN) says that initial research in China based on over 44,000 cases of Covid-19, showed a mortality rate of 2.3 percent of the general population rising to 8 percent in those aged 70-79 and nearly 15 percent in those of 80 years and above.

Hassan’s mother, Hadija Issa, 67, says the pandemic has kept her in a constant fear but the fact that conditions for preventing the virus are in place, she feels safer to be with the children.

“If they go to school, I also fear that they could carry the virus in buses and other congested places and take it to their teachers,’’ she says.

Ms Justina Alfred, 25, is also sending her 78-year-old mom to the village. She’s worried about school reopening and the fate of her parent’s health.

Experts take

Experts say the elderly relied on social connection more than most and they need it now more than ever.

“It’s fine if some families have decided to take their elderly members out of the likely hotbed of the pandemic. But they should ensure they keep in touch with them always as they (elders) might be affected yet with loneliness,” says Dr Edwin Chacha, former medical specialist at the Bugando Medical Centre (CMC).

“The elderly and retired workers sometimes need a helping hand as they often need to have people around them, but all in all, they also need to be protected,” he adds.

On whether school reopening puts the elders at the highest risk, Dr Chacha says it is more dangerous for them if the disease breakout in schools.

“People are being reminded of not forgoing preventive measures for Covid-19, this means we still have the virus around us. We only pray that it doesn’t escalate in schools because this would render the vulnerable groups to a high risk,” says Dr Chacha.

“If you care for an older loved one with other complications like cancer, you will be worried,” he adds.