Dudley MP urges people to be vigilant over virus ‘death sentence’
An MP in the Black Country has urged people to be vigilant over coronavirus, which could be a "death sentence" for elderly people.
Marco Longhi made the plea for families living with older people to follow lockdown measures in order to protect them from the virus.
Households transmissions occur when someone, who has coronavirus, does not socially distance from others in the household. Instead household members, who should avoid contact, are likely to interact repeatedly and share facilities with the person with the virus.
Health chiefs have said it is especially concerning when elderly relatives live in the same household – with the virus easily passed on to them.
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It has led to an increase in people in the the over-60 age group – after they catch the virus in the home – going into hospital in the region.
The Dudley North MP said people needed to be wary of the "invisible enemy" among us and ensure people stay apart in the home – due to some people being asymptomatic.
He said: "As someone who comes from a background where families stick together generationally for longer than western countries do generally, I can completely understand what's happening.
Wisdom
"But that also means we don't have the same rates of isolation and our young people can benefit from the wisdom of the older people they live with.
"However, when we have this invisible enemy among us, which is particularly nasty to our older generation it makes it a lot more difficult.
"I would urge people as much as possible to continue to observe lockdown measures. "
Current national restrictions have already prevented people from mixing households – including visiting family members – to stem the transmission in households.
Mr Longhi said younger people could be carrying the virus without knowing – and could be giving their grandparents or elderly relatives a "death sentence".
He added: "One of the messages that seems to have got lost in all this, is washing our hands. It's the single most important thing we could do to keep this virus at bay.
"My daughter works at McDonald's and as much as I want to wrap my arms around her every time I see her, I don't. I am aware she could be carrying the disease and not showing the symptoms.
"We need to keep in mind that this virus could be spreading quite viciously and have terrible consequences."
