Older people (those above 65 years), and those with underlying health conditions who require care and support from others, have been cited as being particularly susceptible to severe infection by COVID-19 (United Nations, 2020; WHO, 2020d). As countries consider how they will shield and minimize spread of the disease among people over 65 years of age who have been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, it is important to analyse the needs of this group and what makes this population susceptible to severe COVID-19 disease. In so doing, it is important to understand that it is not chronological age that is the determinant of infection risk. Rather, an important point of susceptibility is that many older people are recipients and dependents of long-term care (LTC) services and usually have multiple underlying conditions, whether they live in their homes, day centres or communal settings (WHO, 2020d)

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