Amid COVID-19, old age homes in Ahmedabad receive increased queries about vacancies

Retirement homes for the elderly in Ahmedabad say they have been witnessing a spike in the number of inquiries in the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. During the lockdown, a lot of people contacted old age homes in the city to inquire about vacancies, say caretakers of such facilities.

"There have been more inquiries about vacancies in our facility. We are full and can not take in more people. Many people have lost jobs or are facing financial crisis this has led to a more number of inquiries," says Suketu Nagarwadia, Trustee, Jeevan Sandhya Old Age Home.

"Some families live in small houses in which it is difficult to maintain social distancing. It is a problem for them. As a result we have had many people contacting us for rooms but we had to decline them as we have full occupancy and cannot take in more people," he adds.

While for some space is a problem, others, according to CEO of Hirm Old Age Home, think that since old people are susceptible to being infected easily, it is better to send them to a retirement facility.

"Our old age home has been getting a number of inquiries and each day we get a lot of phone of calls. When I asked some of them said they have small children at home and since elderly people can get infected easily with t he virus so sending them to an old age home can help protect and keep other members of the family safe," CEO said.

A total of 902 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths were reported in Gujarat in the last 24 hours, said State health department on Monday.

The State Health Department said that the total count of cases in the state is now at 42,808, including 29,806 cured/discharged patients and 2,057 deaths

( With inputs from ANI )