An elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: ReutersAn elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: Reuters
An elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: Reuters
Colleen K. Howe
Opinion

Opinion

The View by Colleen K. Howe

The coronavirus epidemic is a warning for Hong Kong, and others, to prepare for the reality of an ageing world

  • Because the coronavirus disproportionately affects people over 65, health care systems in countries with large elderly populations are struggling to cope
  • The epidemic should prompt governments to think through how policies such as social distancing affect the elderly and to bolster health care systems well in advance

Colleen K. Howe
Colleen K. Howe

Updated: 7:00am, 18 Mar, 2020

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An elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: ReutersAn elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: Reuters
An elderly man stretches on a machine, with a sign advising residents to avoid exercising outdoors during the coronavirus outbreak, at a park in Shanghai on March 12. Photo: Reuters
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