This condo has put an elderly-first lockdown strategy in place
From drawing space identifiers across the society compound for social distancing to appointing representatives for catering to the needs of elderly and vulnerable persons, The Legend in Sector 57 is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that life under the Covid-19 lockdown is completed without any major hiccups. The condominium, like the rest of the country, went into a complete lockdown on Monday and has since restricted the entry of part-time workers and other non-essential service providers. In case a resident needs to visit a hospital or go out to get any essentials, a letter from the RWA is issued as a permit.
Entry of outside vendors and food delivery persons has been restricted to the tower gate, which is disinfected regularly. Residents are called up by the tower guard and asked to collect the deliveries. All persons entering the building with deliveries are mandatorily required to use hand sanitizers and get their temperatures checked. Within the condominium, common areas like lifts and play areas are regularly sanitised. Toothpicks have been placed inside the lift to press lift buttons to avoid direct contact with common areas.
In the area around grocery shops, markings have been created on the floor to maintain a safe distance. “We have made numbered markings on the floor at a distance of six feet from each other so that people maintain the recommended gap while waiting to get supplies. Not more than two residents are allowed to be inside the shop at any given time,” said Shashank Jogi, the secretary of the condominium.
Rashmi Bhatia, another resident, said that, so far, there has been no shortage of groceries and the shop within the premises was trying to meet residents’ demand. “We have rationed the supply of milk at the grocery shop. No more than 2 litres of milk is sold to any family. Online food deliveries are allowed, but only till the tower gates,” said Bhatia.
HEPING THE OLD AND VULNERABLE
For the elderly and others who might need assistance in their daily life, the condominium has assigned a tower/villa representative, who has a list of all such residents. Each representative keeps a check on the general well-being of these households and step in if assistance is required.
Arti Agarwal, a tower representative, said that while the condominium had a volunteer network to run errands for its vulnerable residents, the RWA was working towards creating a system for offering periodic cleaning services to the elderly.
“It’s a long lockdown period. Cleaning the house is proving to be a problem for senior citizens. We are trying to devise workable solutions to deal with the situation. We are seeking cooperation of those with full-time help; we’re hoping that they could be engaged on rotation to clean the houses of the elderly residents. We are also trying to create in-house lodging for 2-3 cleaning staff who would attend to homes of senior citizens on a rotational basis,” Agarwal said.
QUARANTINE STRATEGY
In case of families with international travel history, the individual (s) have to be mandatorily quarantined in a room within their apartment for 14 days from the date of arrival. The condominium has also barred these families from stepping out in the lawns or any other common areas within the condominium. People found violating these norms re reported to the district authorities and the police, as per the advisory issued to residents by the RWA.
Prior to the lockdown, the RWA had advised residents to ensure that domestic workers were given paid leave. Jogi said that a large majority of residents had voluntarily given their personal support staff paid before the March 22 declaration.
“Senior citizens who might need special assistance are being helped by residents at an individual level or through the volunteer network. Additionally, we are in touch with an elderly care service that is trying to assist the elderly to whatever extent they can,” said Jogi.
“We have also created a backup team that will swing into action if any emergency arises or if anyone from the staff is detected Covid-19 positive,” said Jogi.
