Restrictions on people over 70 should be lifted, expert doctor says

In March, Finnish Government issued a list of requirements for people over the age of 70, who were asked to avoid close contact and movement outside their homes because it would increase the risk of infection.

But now, Markku Broas, Lapland Hospital Chief of Infectious Diseases, has questioned this recommendation and asked that the elderly not be excluded from the society.

Talking to Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat, this expert said the current practice of urging people over the age of 70 to stay indoors and avoid physical human contact, when prolonged, causes more problems than a safe return to everyday life and toward a more normal life.

“We already know that coronavirus quarantines have weakened the ability of the elderly to function. It’s about both physical and mental functioning,” he added.

For Broas, some of the problems may not even show up right away. According to him, some side effects of isolation will only be visible later.

Broas believes that people over the age of 70 could return to a more normal life without increasing their risk of coronavirus.

He reminds that the Covid-19 crises in Finland is relatively under control. In many places, it can even be said that the coronavirus has been suppressed.

He explained that “for example, in the Lapland hospital district, the tracing of disease chains has been successful and in practice, it is not possible to speak of an epidemic. In Uusimaa there is more virus, but in relation to the population, by no means terribly. For safety reasons, people over the age of 70 could move around the country using surgical mouth-nose pads.”