COVID-19 Public Health Restrictions Shouldn’t Mean Dying Alone

Dying alone is so potentially harmful that we need to balance harms using a harm-reduction approach

Being alone in our final moments is a fear many have endured as COVID-19 restrictions keep familes from a loved one in their final moments. Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the COVID-19 physical distancing has been accounts of people dying alone in hospitals or in long-term care facilities.

These incidents have devastated family members and disturbed many people with the sense that something has gone wrong with how our society cares for aging or vulnerable people and responds to illness and dying.