‘Shield the seniors? Let’s not go down that ageist road’

THE idea that senior citizens should shield while the rest of society gets on with normal life has been gaining traction as a way of managing our response to Covid-19. 9 Some experts reckon that this is the best way to deal with the crisis as teenagers and young adults, though largely the architects of the spread of the disease, are generally symptomfree or symptom-light.

The economy could be fired back up if the “oldies” are sidelined, so the theory goes. Let’s hide them away for the long Covid winter to come. Lock the doors, close the curtains, go into hibernation. We’ll tell you when its safe to come out.

I’m sure that the 12 million over 65s in the UK might have something to say about that!

Any attempt to quarantine such a large swathe of the population would no doubt be met with stiff resistance, it even organised id revolt. lt Old Lives Matter (OLM) might be the slogan adopted by those opposing such a discriminatory move. Seniors do appreciate that young people just want to have fun, but was that loss of an hour’s drinking in the pubs such a disaster in view of what’s now likely to follow? Did they really need to decamp to house parties? Maybe someone should tell them there’s a “war” on!

Those of all ages who need to shield are free to do so, but telling fit and active pensioners, some of whom still till work, kt to hunker h kd down f for the duration is a non-starter.

Yes, age may increase their susceptibility, but that’s something they are fully aware of. The guidelines on masks, distancing and hand washing are particularly relevant to this group and are almost universally adopted.

Whether such an ageist policy is enacted remains to be seen, but it’s clear that tougher rules are on the way.

Those areas already under local lockdown have seen their infection rates t continue ti t to rise, i triggering ti i th the calls for either tougher action or a different approach. What no-one knows is whether they would have risen even higher without such measures.

I just hope we are not lumped in with “the North” in any regional action. We had to unfairly endure the rigours of the national lockdown when there was hardly a trace of the virus on our patch.

We may be adjacent to some Covid hot spots but, so far, we are in a better position than most.