No bingo, no visitors: How Quebec seniors are coping with isolation

"Imagine! We don't have bingo!"

Diane MacDonald says life has become anything but ordinary. As a senior in a residence in the West Island, the new constraints in place to protect her from the coronavirus have made everyday life a little different.

"Everything is cancelled. All our social activities, all the courses that we do," MacDonald said.

Seniors are the most vulnerable demographic when it comes to COVID-19. If infected, the coronavirus could potentially be life-threatening for those 65 and older, and for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

All visits to seniors' residences and long-term care facilities in the province have been prohibited since the province declared a public health emergency on Saturday.

"It's not normal, so people are trying to cope with it. Some of them, the morale is not as good as it should be," MacDonald said of her fellow residents.

Finding ways to visit

The ban on visits didn't stop Michelle Stafford-Abbott and her sister Chantal from visiting their uncle, Thomas Stafford, in a residence in NDG, albeit in a unique way.

"None of them are allowed to leave the residence, and he misses the fresh air, but his face lit up when we told him to come to the lobby window of his residence to see us," she said.

"We called him and had a conversation through the phone!"

Hard to persuade seniors to stay home

Premier François Legault specifically reached out to the younger generation earlier this week to adhere to social distancing measures. He also made a point of asking them to call their grandparents to tell them the same thing.

One Familiprix franchise owner in Quebec City put up signs on the doors, telling shoppers over 70 to go home and said he will no longer accept lottery tickets there.

"We noticed at the beginning of the week that the message to stay home wasn't sticking, especially with older people," said André Villeneuve.

"I think seniors have a feeling they are losing their autonomy if they stay home, but they have to realize that most of the population has put their life on hold to protect them.

Worry over COVID-19 spread

For the seniors at Fulford Residence in downtown Montreal, now is a good time to catch up on Season 2 of The Crown.

Fulford Residence is relatively small, so many of the women who live there can maintain a safe distance from each other while still watching television together.

Director Marie-France Lacoste said her staff has daily meetings to keep up with the latest measures put in place by the government to ensure the safety of the residents.

But at her residence in the West Island, MacDonald says with her pre-existing health condition, she is worried about what she is hearing on the news.

"The conditions here are so well-managed, and they are so careful for us that I don't think I will get it," she said, hopefully.