‘Kanniedood’ centenarians riding the silver wave of the Covid-19 storm
People in Europe live to a ripe old age because of good health and social care systems. According to a figure from AgeUK, there are 14,430 centenarians in the UK, a number that has been growing every year. But, the coronavirus has been devastating for the elderly populations of Europe and the UK who are particularly vulnerable to succumb to the virus because of compromised immune systems. According to the World Health Organisation, 95% of coronavirus deaths were people over the age of 60 years. But it is also this group of the population that have proven to be resilient and provided some of the good news stories of Covid-19. A World War veteran, Captain Tom Moore's 100th birthday walk in his back garden with his zimmer frame managed to raise £18 million for the British National Health Service, while the 106-year-old Connie Titchen from the north of the UK contracted the coronavirus and managed to survive. On the other side of the world a US senior tells about how difficult dating is during the outbreak and how she and her 81-year-old boyfriend get take-aways, separately, and eat in separate cars with the windows rolled down. Another grandmother in her 80s is self-isolating with her younger 70-year-old boyfriend that she met at a church. It is a devastating epidemic that has proven not only to decimate elderly populations, but picks on the young too. But we can take comfort in the 'kanniedood' elderly that are proving to be so resilient in riding the silver waves of the Covid-19 storm. – Linda van Tilburg
By Thulasizwe Sithole
She survived two world wars and now, at 106 years old, yet another deadly, but silent world war – the coronavirus.
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