‘Togetherness’ also deadly

Dear Editor:

RE: Loneliness is deadly, Dec. 10.

Loneliness may be deadly, but so is togetherness these days.

I am in my 70s and a grandfather. Do I miss my grandsons? Of course I do. I would like nothing better than to give them a huge hug and tell them I love them. I will settle for telling them from a distance.

I understand that those that live in homes for the elderly can suffer from the distancing from loved ones, but so can the older folks who live in their own homes. However, this is not a time to promote togetherness, or as the writer says, “a disease we can cure by simply letting them join their family and friends. Please consider their emotional wellbeing.”

This is a foolish premise if you consider that promoting their well being would also possibly promote their death. As we age, our defense systems and immunities from disease weaken. Is it worth promoting the older generation joining their family when the consequences could be fatal? Don’t think so.

Not only would you put the elderly at risk, what about the other residents of the homes they will return to? You don’t make your own rules to suit your family. COVID-19 doesn’t care. Science is not an opinion, it’s a fact.

There are alternatives to close personal contact that allow face-to-face, real-time communication. My daughter and my grandsons have not been in our house for months, since May or June, nor us in theirs. But we talk and see each other electronically every day. I don’t want them here in the present situation.

Do I like it? No, no, no. But I also would rather be safe than dead. I would rather they don’t come and we have many more Christmases, than have them come and this be the last Christmas for someone.

Loneliness is certainly not pleasant, but survival is far more desirable.

Terry Filce,
Belwood