GEIS-新闻详情

Seniors urged to avoid social interactions for two weeks amid surge in Covid-19 cases

2021-09-15 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - All seniors aged 60 and above and those living with them have been urged to minimise social interactions in the next two weeks amid a spike in the number of daily Covid-19 cases to the highest in over a year.

In a statement on Wednesday (Sept 15), the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) said: "Seniors are at a higher risk of developing serious health complications if they are infected with Covid-19."

They are advised to stay at home as much as possible and avoid crowded places.

The AIC also urged seniors who have not been vaccinated to do so soonest possible as the risk of an unvaccinated person getting severely ill is six times higher.

Those who have been vaccinated are advised to get their booster shots.

Silver Generation Ambassadors under the agency's outreach arm, Silver Generation Office (SGO), will help seniors make online bookings for appointments.

Seniors can also walk into any vaccination centre, polyclinic and participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) to receive their vaccination without an appointment.

For seniors with mobility issues, the SGO will help arrange for someone to escort them to vaccination centres. For housebound seniors requesting for home vaccination, AIC will work with the relevant agencies to arrange for eligible seniors to be vaccinated at home.

AIC also encouraged seniors to maintain good personal hygiene by wearing their masks properly and not pulling them down when chatting.

It added that masks should be changed or washed regularly. In addition, seniors should also wash their hands regularly and avoid touching their faces.

Seniors who need assistance at home or support in getting vaccinated can contact the AIC hotline on 1800-650-6060.

AIC advised family members to help buy essentials for seniors so that social interactions can be minimised. It added that those living alone should go out only for essential activities, such as seeing a doctor, and return home as soon as possible.

Activity booklets for seniors have also been developed by AIC. The booklets contain arts-based activities that can be downloaded and printed as activity sheets for them to do, assisted by caregivers and loved ones.

"Each booklet is designed thematically to bring about nostalgia which seniors can reminisce about, such as familiar food and places."

These booklets are available for download from the AIC website.