Only recently has it been possible to hold regular meetings for senior citizens again in the district.
How long it will stay that way is difficult to predict in view of the currently massively increasing corona numbers.
The fact is, the gatherings are invaluable to the elderly.
District
- Whether weekly or once a month - seniors come together regularly throughout the district to spend an afternoon or evening together.
These meetings are very important for the participants.
Because especially in old age, many struggle with loneliness.
It is good to play games with like-minded people, do memory training, listen to lectures, do sports or just chat.
“Older people need regular contact.
This is incredibly important for them, ”says Marianne Roth from the senior citizens' club in the parish of St. Cäcilia in Germering.
The 2G rule applies to the meetings
The first meeting after the compulsory break for Roth and her participants was only recently, at the end of September. Since then, the 2G rule has applied to everyone there. “Personally, the tests are too risky for me,” explains Roth. In addition, the seniors who agree to the stricter regulation should feel a little more secure. So far, the measure, which says that only vaccinated and convalescent people are allowed to take part in the senior afternoon, has been effective. “I've never had anyone who felt unsafe,” says Roth. In general, she has the impression that the 20 or so participants are handling the increasing numbers with ease. If one of them feels sick, they don't even come to the meetings.
Rosmarie Göttner is a little more skeptical about current developments.
The deputy head of the senior citizens' meeting in Jesenwang worries that these gatherings are threatened by a renewed increase in incidence and overcrowded intensive care units.
“You can tell that fewer people are coming.
And those who come make a rather depressed impression, ”says Göttner.
Fear of infection
Usually around 40 people attend the event.
In the last one, however, there were only 30. Although all participants are vaccinated at the monthly meetings in the airport restaurant "Fly In", the atmosphere is not as relaxed as it was before the Corona times.
“We have some over 90s and some single participants.
They are simply afraid of infection, ”explains the organizer.
So she hopes the numbers will soon go in a different direction again.
In the run-up to Christmas there will also be a nativity play by children for the elderly.
Whether that can happen is still in the stars.
The meetings are important
The Bruck organizers Anna Schinharl from the St. Magdalena senior meeting and the coordinator at the LiB multi-generation house, Christina Siedl, also know how important the meetings are for the older generation. “In the past year, people really missed our meetings,” explains Schinharl. For them and their participants, the fact that their actual meeting point, the parish hall in St. Magdalena, is currently being rebuilt, makes things even more difficult. That is why the meetings take place in the ant parlor. "We are dependent on the rules that apply in the inn," says Schinharl. So what about the planned Advent celebration in December, nobody can tell you today. In general, she notes that fewer people tend to come to the meetings.
Christina Siedl has not yet made this observation.
“The seniors are looking forward to coming back.
They suffered a lot from the loneliness and isolation, ”said Siedl.
Siedl explains that older people have not yet been afraid of the meetings with the good hygiene concept: “In our house, the elderly may feel more secure than at home, where they invite five people into their own living room.” But also Siedl can imagine that the rising corona numbers could soon lead to falling numbers of participants again.
So far, the offers for senior citizens are still actively in demand.
Two groups formed
Rosina Schwojer from the active seniors in Olching experiences it that way.
Olching seniors meet every Friday in the basement of the town hall.
The senior citizens' club is so big that Schwojer has formed two groups of 40 to 50 participants each, who take turns taking part in the meetings every 14 days.
Here, too, the following applies: Only those who have been vaccinated or recovered can get in.
The organizers can also be tested regularly and the hygiene concept has been agreed with the town hall and the BRK.
“People feel safer this way, even if certain fears are always there.
The best protection is and remains the vaccination, ”says Schwojer.
It is important to her that the seniors have their regular meetings.
"Every age group needs a social life and participation," she explains.
Organizational challenges
The senior meetings in the district have one thing in common: All participants and organizers have been vaccinated, sometimes for the third time, and the common hygiene concepts due to Corona are adhered to.
Everywhere attempts are made to move into larger rooms.
Christina Siedl knows that this can also lead to problems: “Two 80-year-olds with hearing aids simply cannot be put apart too far”.
Therefore, all organizers hope that the booster vaccination will make the situation more positive for the seniors and their meetings.
“We'll see what the next few weeks will bring.
There's not much left for us anyway, ”says Rosina Schwojer.
(Christoph Riegel)
