ABSTRACT
Cross-border services and support are becoming an increasingly important part of Hong Kong's social policy because an increasing number of its older citizens are choosing to live in mainland China. Unfortunately, with the recent outbreak of COVID-19, medical services for cross-border older adults have been blocked due to strict immigration controls. This article examines the effects of COVID-19 on these older adults, with a specific focus on the interruption of medical services and the remedial measures taken by the government and non-governmental organizations. It also discusses the prospect of delivering care for cross-border older people using telemedicine, which is considered one of the most important methods for overcoming space-distance and reducing the risk of cross-contamination caused by close contact.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Chronic Disease/drug therapy , Emigration and Immigration , Telemedicine , Aged , China , Hong Kong/ethnology , Humans , Public PolicyABSTRACT
This article provides an analysis of the psychological and moral transformations as people confront the risk of infection, using Hong Kong as a case example. In the face of an unfamiliar threat, the need for uncertainty reduction gives rise to hasty, uncritical, and oversimplified assumptions about risk reduction, while prejudice against people and nations who do not share similar practices, as well as those symptomatic or at risk of catching the virus, ensue. The pandemic is eroding basic human decency and our compassion for one another while the human race battles a common threat to our destiny. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).