At the Nomikeios Greek Old Age Home, the residents stand up one by one and begin to dance to a traditional Greek song played over a cellphone.
“We did everything… we had put measures in place,” says the chairwoman of the Greek Ladies Benevolent Society, that runs the home. In these homes are people who are statistically the most likely to die from the disease. Healthcare professionals working with old age homes have seen the same scenario over and over.
Doctors from within the community began caring for the patients from the home. Money came pouring in.Patients had to be isolated, which meant family and friends weren’t allowed to visit. It was a hard time. An effort had to be made to keep the residents occupied. Priscilla Chauke, the matron at the Itlhokomeleng Old Age Home in Highlands North, Johannesburg, has also seen the effect the lockdown has had on the elderly.
“We have one dementia patient who keeps on asking ‘when is my daughter coming’ and he becomes angry.”