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Covid-19 is a new disease that presents specific risks for older people.
Initial research in China based on over 44,000 cases of Covid-19, showed a mortality rate of 2.3% for the general population, rising to 8% in those aged 70-79 and nearly 15% in those 80 and over.
It has been characterised by the WHO as “a controllable pandemic” which all countries need to prepare for and respond to. This presents a challenge for low- and middleincome countries with weaker health and care systems, as well as in countries hosting populations of refugees and displaced people living in camps.
This pandemic can be suppressed but only in so far as people act in solidarity with each other and take steps to protect and care for those most at risk.