Advisory for protection of Senior Citizens aged above 60 years during COVID-19

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Government of India

Department of Geriatric Medicine AIIMS,
New Delhi

• Stay within the house all the time
• Avoid having visitors at home
• If meeting is essential, maintain a distance of 1 meter
• If living alone, one can consider depending on healthy neighbours for acquiring essentials for home
• Avoid small and large gatherings at all cost
• Remain actively mobile within the house
• consider doing light exercise and yoga at home
• Maintain hygiene by washing hands. Especially before having meals and after using the washroom. This can be done by washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Clean frequently touched objects such as spectacles
• Sneeze and cough into tissue paper/handkerchief. After coughing or sneezing dispose of the tissue paper in a closed bin/wash your handkerchief and hands
• Ensure proper nutrition through home cooked fresh hot meals, hydrate frequently and take fresh juices to boost immunity
• Take your daily prescribed medicines regularly.
• Monitor your health. If you develop fever, cough and/or breathing difficulty or any other health issue, immediately contact nearest health care facility and follow the medical advice
• Talk to your family members (not staying with you), relatives, friends via call or video conferencing, take help from family members if needed

• Come in close contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus disease (fever/cough/breathing difficulty).
• Shake hands or hug your friends and near ones
• Go to crowded places like parks, markets and religious places
• Cough or sneeze into your bare hands
• Touch your eyes, face and nose
• self-medicate
• Go to hospital for routine checkup or follow up. As far as possible make tele- consultation with your healthcare provider
• Invite family members and friends at home

• Due to Summer, avoid dehydration. Consume an adequate amount of water. (Caution for individuals with pre-existing Heart and Kidney disease)

• Wash your hands before helping the older individual
• Cover nose and mouth adequately using a tissue or cloth while attending on the senior citizen
• Clean the surfaces which are frequently used. These include a walking cane, walker, wheel-chair, bedpan etc
• Assist the older individual and help her/him in washing hands
• Ensure proper food and water intake by senior citizens
• Monitor his/her health

• Go near senior citizens if suffering from fever/ cough/ breathing difficulty
• Keep senior citizens completely bed-bound
• Touch the Senior Citizen without washing hands

• Contact help-line if the older adult has the following symptoms:
  • Fever, with or without body ache
  • New-onset, continuous cough, shortness of breath
  • Unusually poor appetite, inability to feed

• Communicate with relatives at home
• Communicate with neighbours, provided social distancing is followed, and gathering of people is avoided
• Provide a peaceful environment
• Rediscover old hobbies like painting, listening to music, reading
• Make sure to access and believe only the most reliable sources of information
• Avoid tobacco, alocohol and other drugs to avoid loneliness or boredom
• If you have an already existing mental illness, call helpline (08046110007)

• Isolate yourself
• Confine oneself in a room
• Follow any sensational news or social media posts.
• Spread or share any unverified news or information further

• Contact helpline in case of
  • Change in mental status, such as excessively drowsy during the day, not responding, speaking inappropriately
  • New onset of inability to recognise relative which he/she could do before