A wheelchair-bound 70-year-old is contemplating a lonely future after his wife died of Sars last month.
Mr Yip was unable to see his dying wife and was distraught when the hospital called him with the bad news, according to his social worker, Tong Choi-ying, of the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society.
Mr Yip has refused interviews but allowed his social worker to speak for him because he wanted his tragedy to be publicised to draw attention to the plight of the estimated 100 other elderly people who have lost a close relative or spouse to the virus.
He said his neighbours avoided him when his wife contracted Sars, according to Ms Tong. Since the couple had no children, Mr Yip relied on his wife to take care of him.
'Mr Yip cries every time he mentions his wife,' Ms Tong said. 'He complains that time is running too slowly and he misses his wife so much. He is emotionally unstable and we really worry about him.
'He told us he did not want to move to an elderly home now because he wanted to spend time in the empty flat which holds memories of his wife.'
The Hong Kong Family Welfare Society has arranged a home-care assistant for Mr Yip to prepare his daily meals and do his housework. But the social worker said what he needed most was care and understanding from people in the community, especially from his neighbours.
