ABSTRACT
Older adults are at a higher risk of dying from COVID-19 and the risk is
much higher in low and middle-income countries. A recent publication by
Lloyd-Sherlock, P. et al raise four concerns that need to be considered
when developing public health and clinical responses to COVID-19 to
protect older adults in LMICs. This paper applies these concerns to the
context of Sri Lanka and provides simple and immediate measures to
proactively prevent the spread of COVID-19 among older adults in Sri
Lanka. These measures include but does not limit to: 1) considering the
difficulties health care systems may face in the case of a COVID-19
surge and taking immediate preventative actions to limit the spread in
the country; 2) implementing practices in LTCs to prevent the spread
among LTC residents and staff; 3) proactively including older adults
especially those who are dependent and from remote areas in government
responses; and 4) taking into consideration family dynamics that are
unique to Sri Lanka and providing support to reduce exposure through
government and other available resources. Sri Lanka being a LMIC and
therefore more vulnerable must take immediate actions while there is
still time to minimize the impacts COVID-19 could potentially have on
the country.