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By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Loosen visitation rules so seniors can choose quality of life over quantity

Jan 22, 2021 | 10:34 AM

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has been intolerably cruel to our seniors. Not only is it infecting and killing them at a rate far higher than the rest of the population, restrictions put in place to limit the virus’ spread treat seniors unfairly. We have eliminated their ability to socialize, to connect and to maintain bonds with their friends and their families.

For most seniors, the opportunity to socialize is the joy of life that keeps them getting up in the mornings. If they cannot sit and reminisce, tell jokes and stories, listen to their grandchildren tell them about the latest toy or video game just to see the glint in their eyes and hear the spark of excitement in their voices — if they can’t do those things, they might as well stay in bed.

Some seniors are fully equipped to maintain their social connections through technology, but even those few would say a Zoom call is scarcely a replacement for a one-on-one visit or a family gathering.

Our provincial health officer is trying to keep people alive with her strict rules against visitation and gathering. It’s commendable in some respects, but it ignores a value statement most of us know to be true.

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Ask almost any senior citizen living either at a home or in a care facility whether they would trade years off their lives in exchange for a greater quality of life and they would barely hesitate. Would they take a slightly higher chance of contracting a deadly virus if it meant the opportunity to look their children and grandchildren in the eyes once again? For many of them, the choice is clear. What is the value in a life spent in isolation?

We who are younger can see years and decades on the other side of this pandemic; many seniors cannot. Every day they must live in isolation is a precious commodity lost — veritable grains of sand in an hourglass, slowly slipping away.

Dr. Bonnie Henry must find a way to allow the oldest in our province to live their lives as fully as they possibly can in the time they have left.

That is why Terry Lake, Isobel Mackenzie and others are pushing so hard for her to consider deploying rapid testing in long-term care facilities. It is not a perfect solution to the entire, large scale problem, but for so many seniors — beloved elders who place relationships with friends and families above all else — it is a tool that could enrich the days they have left.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.