A bonus for the elderly and a six-month moratorium on rent are among a number of proposals the Nationalist Party made on Tuesday saying they had been hit disproportionately by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Addressing a news conferenc, PN deputy leader David Agius said that the party was holding discussions with NGOs and experts to better understand and address the needs of the population.
“While the party endorses the measures taken to protect people over 65, in these moments of crisis, we are seeking to lighten the load of these most vulnerable members of society,” he continued.
For this reason, he proposed a bonus to supplement the pension, to help tide pensioners over the next two or three months of the crisis.
Seniors were paying higher prices for medicines and sanitary products, he said, and many had approached the party expressing they were feeling the pinch of costlier products.
A six-month moratorium on rent payments was also necessary to help them deal with the rise in costs, said PN MP Ivan Bartolo.
In addition, the party was appealing for essential medicines and items to be delivered to the homes of the elderly and pensioners, and to ensure that none of these medicines were out of stock.
Agius pointed out that they had had reports from pharmacies and seniors suffering from chronic illnesses of many medicines being unavailable, and it was the government’s responsibility to intervene and address this issue immediately.
Agius called for more assurances that people who worked with the vulnerable were given enough resources and protective clothing to safeguard themselves and their clients from infection.
He also appealed to the authorities to test more extensively those working in homes for the elderly as well as the residents themselves.
Finally, to help with the rising utility costs the elderly had to face staying at home, Agius again called on the government to cut electricity bills by half.
On loneliness, always a problem among the elderly, but more prevalent now that they have been forced to isolate, Bartolo said there had to be more programmes and initiatives to encourage this vulnerable group to use social media.
“We need to encourage seniors to learn how to use social media not only to connect with others, but also so that they don’t feel cut off from the rest of the world,” he said.