1/5th of Chennai’s elderly had no income in pandemic – Times of India

CHENNAI: Nearly one-fifth of the elderly in Chennai have reported they had no source of income including remittances by family members, pension, or other cash transfers, during the pandemic, said a report.
“The Silent Tormentor, Covid-19 and the elderly,” by Helpage India surveyed 3,200 people in the 60-69 age group, a majority of them men, in household settings and old age homes across six cities including Chennai.
Overall, 15% of the elderly were infected by Covid, while it was16.4% in Chennai. Delhi had the most cases followed by Mumbai and Chennai. More than half the respondents who were infected said they received lowest care and treatment, while more than 20% in Chennai said they witnessed a change in behaviour of their family members or caregivers during the pandemic.
More than 35% of elders in Chennai said loss in businesses lockdown led to reduced family income, while 47% of youth caregivers in Chennai, mostly women, were not earning and 30.1% of young caregivers lost jobs, the highest, making it further difficult to provide for the elderly.
At least 25.3% of caregivers said the elderly under their charge didn’t have the internet and found it difficult to buy essentials, while others didn’t take the effort to explain the basic smartphone features to the elderly with a smartphone so they could themselves reach out for help.
While the elderly in Chennai had maximum awareness about vaccines against the virus, 47.5% said they were yet to get jabs. The report said 40% of young caregivers didn’t ensure elderly under them got vaccinated, onetenth said they did not provide Covid-related awareness to them and 6% said they didn’t ensure elderly wore a mask when visitors came.
V Sivakumar, director Helpage India (Tamil Nadu), urged the state to work with communities and civil society groups to provide support to the elderly. “They must also ensure that every caregiver, even in old age homes, gets vaccinated.”
Department of social welfare and women empowerment officials said volunteers were sent to check on the elderly daily. “They have a list of senior citizens and have shared their numbers,” said one.