COVID-19 hits community care: communal meals cancelled, elderly wander alone, civil society proposes mutual-aid epidemic prevention

In rural areas, many elderly people live alone. To care for the seniors, many communities have set up long-term care stations for daily health maintenance and course learning, and also provide communal meal services. Reporting to the community care center every day, like elementary school students going to school for classes and communal meals, enjoying the warmth of human connection, has become the daily life of rural elderly people.

However, for epidemic prevention considerations, after March this year, most county and city governments announced that community organizations must suspend activities. Many elderly people reported, "We can't get into the school, so we have no choice but to wander around the vegetable market, the streets and the parks." Many community workers worry that losing the power of mutual-aid care could leave elderly seniors without care, and could even become a breach in epidemic prevention during this period.

After community centers stopped activities, the elderly wander the streets and eat cold leftovers at home

In February, after receiving a text message from the Kaohsiung City Government suggesting the suspension of community centers, Huang Wen-cheng, who concurrently serves as chairman of the National Golden Point Community (Outstanding Community Care Center) Alliance and chairman of the Dashe Guanyin Community Development Association, began to feel uneasy. It was not until the end of March, when the city government issued another notice, that considering the crowds moving around during Tomb Sweeping Day and the pressure of public opinion, he painfully stopped community operations.

"After the suspension, volunteers came and told me the elderly were wandering and loitering in the streets. At that time I felt terrible. Although the epidemic poses a threat, we had finally built up community mutual-aid care, and I felt very torn." Huang Wen-cheng described how, having lost mutual-aid care, the elderly instead became more likely to be a gap in epidemic prevention.

"I'm very unwilling to accept it. The elderly are already used to living together. Why can they only stay at home eating cold leftovers?" Huang Wen-cheng believes communities are capable of doing epidemic prevention well and are also capable of taking care of themselves. He is considering continuing operations in suitable outdoor venues in a way that complies with regulations. Even if the government stops subsidies, he would rather pay out of his own pocket to let normal community life continue.

Ministry of Health and Welfare: no mandatory suspension, only epidemic prevention guidelines provided; suspension is a decision of local governments

Lin Ming-li, section chief of the Elderly Welfare Division of the Social and Family Affairs Administration (SFAA) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said: "In February, the Ministry of Health and Welfare notified everyone to implement epidemic prevention principles. If there are uncertain or suspected cases, services must be stopped." However, it did not order community care centers to suspend operations. Now it is each local government deciding on its own to "deploy ahead of time." The counties and cities currently known to have suspended community care centers include: Taipei City, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Nantou, Chiayi County and City, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and so on.

Lin Ming-li said the SFAA issued a document to all counties and cities on 4/1, providing the "Work Guidelines for Community Epidemic Prevention Manpower" for reference, and also anticipated that if the epidemic worsens and the government finds it difficult to meet all needs, community strength would still be needed to maintain daily functions and coordinate supplies. As long as social distancing is maintained and protective measures are taken, there is no recommendation for community organizations to stop operating for indoor activities with fewer than 100 people.

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