Berkeley Aging Services urges all seniors to take extra steps to protect themselves from COVID-19 as people over 60 years old are at increased risk of severe illness from the disease.

Those risks increase with age, with those over 80 are in the highest risk group. There is also higher risk for people of any age who have underlying health conditions including cardiovascular disease, severely weakened immune systems, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, or chronic lung disease like COPD. 

Additional Precautions for Those at a Higher Risk

For those with an increased risk of serious COVID-19 illness due to age or underlying health conditions, the CDC recommends you take extra precautions to protect yourself.

• Have a plan if you get sick 
  Know how to stay in touch with family, friends, neighbors, and community health workers by phone or email so that you can reach out should you become sick. Determine who can care for you if your caregiver gets sick.

• Obtain extra medication 
  Avoid unnecessary trips to the pharmacy. Contact your healthcare provider to ask about obtaining extra necessary medications or consider using mail-order for medications.

• Stock up on supplies that will help you stay at home 
  Avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store. Have enough household items, groceries, and over the counter medications on hand. If eligible, consider shopping during special designated hours for those that are high risk. See below for a list of hours by store.  

• Access resources to help keep you at home 
  Consider ways to have food and other supplies brought to your home. This may include family, social, or commercial networks. See below for local resources available.

Special Shopping Hours for High Risk Customers

Many stores have designated shopping hours for older adults or those with an underlying health condition. Below is a list of designated hours for local stores.

• Andronico's: 7-9am Tuesday and Thursdays
• Berkeley Bowl: 8-10am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• Piedmont Grocery: 9-10am every day for those 65 or older
• Safeway: 7-9am Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Target: 8-9am Wednesdays for older adults and those with underlying health conditions 
• Trader Joe's: 8-9am every day
• Whole Foods: 8-9am every day for those 60 or older 

Local Efforts to Bring Food and Supplies to Older Adults and Vulnerable

The Meals on Wheels program continues to operate, providing home-delivered, well balanced meals to Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville homebound older adults. If you are 60 years of age or older, unable to prepare a meal and have no one available to prepare a meal for you, you may be eligible. Call (510) 981-5240 to learn more.

Neighbors are stepping up to help neighbors during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Berkeley Disaster Preparedness Neighborhood Network matches seniors and other vulnerable individuals to low-risk volunteers who can help pick up essential supplies like food, toiletries, and prescriptions. To learn more, visit Berkeley Mutual Aid or leave a voicemail at (510) 519-6770.

Importance of Maintaining Connections

Berkeley's Health Officer has ordered all residents to stay at home except for essential needs. This order, while necessary to protect the health of our entire community, may bring challenges to support systems or feelings of loneliness.

Programs such as Meals on Wheels and the Berkeley Mutual Aid network not only help individuals access food or other critical supplies. They can also bring conversation, a kind word, and a human connection to those sheltering at home.

Regularly checking in with family, friends, neighbors can help. The Crisis Support Services of Alameda County is also providing daily phone calls for homebound seniors during the COVID-19 crisis. For more information or to sign up call (510) 282-9089 or email Andrea Henderson at ahenderson@crisissupport.org.

Staying home is the most important thing we can do right now to protect ourselves and our community. Especially for those most vulnerable, plan ahead and take advantage of the networks, resources and services available to stay home, safe, and healthy. 

Visit cityofberkeley.info/covid19 for additional information on COVID-19, recommendations from Berkeley Public Health, and changes to City services. To learn about additional support services for older adults, call the City of Berkeley Aging Service Division at (510) 981-5190.