PUNE: Senior citizens in the city are taking extra care to protect themselves from the dreaded COVID-19. Right from exercising, practising yoga to playing indoor games with their grandchildren, senior citizens are following all measures to keep the disease at bay.

“A majority of us have one or the other health problems like BP or sugar or heart ailment. Thus, we fall under the high-risk category and our group has decided not to meet till the cases recede,” said retired engineer KV Ajnalkar. “However, sometimes it becomes really difficult to kill the time,” he admitted. 

Association of Senior Citizens of Pune (ASCOP) President RT Wazarkar said, “We have cancelled all meetings owing to the State’s notification of no gatherings. Similarly, the laughing clubs have also been closed down.”

“We would request the administration to open the jogging tracks early in the morning at least for half an hour. Going in the open air, and meeting friends of same age instils motivation in the elderly.  With the closure, the elderly are disturbed,” Wazarkar added. 

“As age advances, immunity reduces. Thus, we have to be extra careful,” said Santosh Kulkarni, a retired officer. He said, “Boredom has entered our lives as we are wary of watching the same corona news and the serials are also boring.”

Programme Coordinator at International Longevity Centre (ILC) Sushant Sonawane said, “We have suspended our physiotherapy assessment camps. Similarly, our other courses like value education, mobile literacy, environment protection too have been cancelled. Our office also has been shut for a week.”