The COVID-19 pandemic has become a crucial issue for governments worldwide since it has revealed the unpreparedness of authorities to address global threats at different levels. Various governments have shown an inability to prevent and control the pandemic due to multiple factors properly. These factors include the lack of organization in the healthcare system, the lack of necessary conditions and resources for pandemic control and the neglect of certain aspects of the pandemic (Stevis-Gridneff et al., 2020). In the context of ignoring the critical issues of COVID-19, governments worldwide have shown a tendency to ignore the need for appropriate treatment of the elderly population. This issue is crucial because older people are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of COVID-19 and have a higher mortality risk. The failure of governments to provide adequate treatment for the elderly results in a significant mortality rate in this population. Furthermore, the isolation of the elderly in nursing homes is a significant problem. Governments utilize this practice to preserve conditions and resources to assist other people. Thus, the government directly restricts the rights of the elderly to receive treatment, which has several adverse effects. This policy of governments primarily results in a significant increase in mortality among people at high risk of negative consequences and mortality from COVID-19. In addition, these policies can lead to a lack of public confidence in the government and the emergence of a critical mortality rate. For instance, these policies in the United States have resulted in record mortality levels, with a 40% share of deaths occurring in long-term care facilities (Stevis-Gridneff et al., 2020). In this case, the government’s policy toward people in nursing homes has also resulted in significant reputational damage to the country. Overall, the potential impact on the government from COVID-19 disease among older people includes increased mortality levels and reputational losses to authorities internally and externally.
Moreover, the inability of governments to act in the context of the COVID-19 impact on the elderly population may lead to a trust crisis on the part of nursing facility workers. For instance, the nursing home association Femarbel informed its employees that they did not receive instructions from the authorities (Stevis-Gridneff et al., 2020). In this case, the government’s neglect of urgent healthcare issues creates additional difficulties in the work of institutions responsible for the elderly. Furthermore, the lack of action to solve this problem is a factor that can significantly limit the ability of healthcare institutions to provide services. Another significant issue is the increase in the elderly mortality rate due to the inability of the government to provide the resources necessary to comply with the guidelines. After receiving instructions from the authorities, the Femarbel Association experienced the problem of the lack of masks, which, according to the government, should have been used in nursing homes (Stevis-Gridneff et al., 2020). This problem indicates that governments need to adopt fundamental changes in policy regarding the care of the elderly. These changes should include developing action strategies that consider vulnerable populations’ needs and focus on providing nursing homes with the necessary facilities and resources. Failure to implement changes, in this case, could have severe consequences for the government because, without the intervention and assistance of the authorities, a significant number of nursing homes cannot provide care to the elderly. In turn, it leads to a negative attitude of the employees of these organizations towards the government, which also negatively affects the state’s reputation from the perspective of the employees of nursing organizations. Therefore, in addition to the high mortality rate and decreasing reputation, the negative impact of COVID-19 on the government involves a decrease in the performance and trust of nursing home workers.
Reference
Stevis-Gridneff, M., Apuzzo, M., & Pronczuk, M. (2020). When COVID-19 hit, many elderly were left to die. The New York Times. Web.