Original title: COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the elderly
During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries used measures such as lockdowns and social isolation to slow the spread of the virus. The abstract focuses on plans to ask people over 70 to self-isolateStay apart from other people to reduce the chance of spreading or catching infection. for a long time. The aim is to shieldTake steps to protect a group from exposure to a disease. them from infection and reduce pressure on health systems. It raises the issue of isolation's consequences but does not explain what they are.
Imagine staying home for a long stretch to avoid catching an illness. You are safer from some contact, but you also spend a long time apart from other people. In this paper, staying home stands for older adults self-isolating to avoid COVID-19, and the hard part is considering the consequences of keeping that separation in place for a very long time.
The abstract describes a public-health trade-off: isolating people over 70 is intended to reduce their exposure to COVID-19 and protect strained health systems. It raises the consequences of asking older adults to remain isolated for a prolonged period, but does not describe what those consequences are.
The abstract does not report evidence about the effects of prolonged isolation, specify what those consequences are, or describe how the proposed self-isolation would work. It presents the policy context and its intended aims, rather than findings that establish the outcomes.
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COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the elderly — Richard C. Armitage, Laura B Nellums — The Lancet Public Health — doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30061-x
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.