Loneliness and Social Isolation of the Elderly from Drobeta-Turnu Severin During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The emergence of the global crisis due to the Covid-19 virus has led tomeasuressuch as social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine, because this new coronavirusis a public health emergency. The elderlyhave a higherrisk of severe illness caused by Covid-19 infection. Thus, they were instructed by the authorities to limit face-to-face interactions with people outside the home, to avoid the risk of illness. The elderly are exposed to loneliness and social isolation, situations that may have existed before the Covid-19 crisis, but which may become more pronounced in this context. Thus, this paper analyzes the situations of loneliness and social isolation experienced by the elderly in Drobeta-Turnu-Severin, both before and during the pandemic. The research is qualitative and included 7 interviews witht heelderly. The research results revealed that respondents experienced social isolation, both before and after the introduction of isolation at home.


Keywords: social isolation, loneliness, the elderly, COVID-19