The Covid-19 pandemic brought a fair deal of stress to everyone, but especially older people worldwide. Between December 2019 and March 2020, 32% of those infected were hospitalised, 2.4% developed acute illness requiring ventilation, and 1.5% – more than 50,000 people – died.
A year and a half into the outbreak, mortality rates across Europe varied significantly. While countries like Sweden and Poland reported fewer than 0.1 deaths per million inhabitants, Spain and the UK saw rates climb to two per million. Democracies worldwide grappled with a difficult dilemma: Should they prioritise protecting the vulnerable and reducing virus-related deaths, or focus on the economy and preserving individual freedoms?
In addition to the direct health risks posed by the virus, restrictions such as lockdowns, school and workplace closures, and stay-at-home orders drastically disrupted daily life. These measures limited access to routine healthcare, increased feelings of loneliness, and contributed to a rise in anxiety and depression. Here too, policies across Europe varied significantly: countries like Greece and Italy adopted strict stay-at-home orders and workplace closures, while Sweden and Estonia only restricted gathering sizes and international travel. This disparity offers a chance to assess how the severity of restrictions affected individuals aged 50 and older, considering cultural, economic, and public health differences.
