<p>Four women in their 80s talked animatedly over a game of Shanghai in the card room at the Nineveh Senior Center. They catch up after three months with little face-to-face interaction as the coronavirus took hold of Johnson County and the world. They shared updates about their families, mutual friends and health.</p><p>Though seniors are the most vulnerable population, many at the senior center feel socialization is important enough to take the risk. Not all seniors are ready to venture out yet—and not all senior centers are ready to let them—but these women agreed it was time.</p><p>“We can’t stay inside forever,” said Marlene Gabehart, of rural Franklin, adding that she missed the social time the club provides.</p><p>Gabehart said being more careful about germs is an adjustment, but it is necessary. None of the women wore a mask, but were spaced several feet apart at the card table.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>“Being asked to do different things bothers everyone. But it is a good thing. We will have to be aware of what is around us,” Gabehart said.</p><p>The card games and friendships are well worth the trip, they said. Though they kept in touch by phone during the state’s stay-at-home order, and received center updates by email, they sorely missed being with each other the way they were on Friday, they said. </p><p>“I’ve had too many strokes and nobody seems to mind that I’m not as smart as I used to be,” joked Janice Clark, of Nineveh, prompting the other women to fire back jokes about their hearing and eyesight.</p><p><span><strong>‘We can’t stay inside forever’</strong></span></p><p>Small groups of seniors are gathering again at the Nineveh Senior Center in southern Johnson County. But leaders at larger senior centers in Franklin and Greenwood say they will remain closed, possibly for months longer.</p><p>Leaders at the Nineveh Senior Center made the call to resume activities June 15, after a careful look at what they needed to do to make sure the elderly are safe, and after asking seniors if they feel comfortable coming back, said Jon Myers, president.</p><p>Because the center is located at Johnson County Park and is housed in a county-owned building, Myers also sought input from Johnson County Parks and Recreation, which gave it the green light to open a few days after it began to allow camping again and reopened Hoosier Horse Park.</p><p>The senior center has about 110 active members. Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Back on Track Indiana guidelines say 150 people may gather, so center leaders felt it was safe to resume activities with precautions in place, Myers said.</p><p>Holcomb’s guidelines also encourage seniors to practice social distancing and wear masks.</p><p>Card tables at the senior center are spaced six feet apart. Masks are not required, but are available, as well as hand sanitizer. Center leaders have also restricted outside food for now, but are allowing members to bring their own drinks.</p><p>None of the center’s largest gatherings, including pitch-in dinners, lunch and learns and a monthly business meeting, are being scheduled yet. Some pitch-ins may be planned in the coming weeks or months, but business meetings will not be held again until September at the earliest, Myers said.</p><p>The largest gatherings center leaders have seen so far are during Euchre and Bid Euchre games, which typically draw about 20 people, Myers said. But most gatherings right now are much smaller, he said, using the four women who gathered to play a card game Friday morning as an example.</p><p>Though fewer COVID-19 cases have been reported in southern Johnson County than in more populous areas, the virus is present. According to zip code-level positive case data from the Indiana State Department of Health, 14 cases have been recorded in the Nineveh-area, 32 in the Trafalgar-area and 62 in and around Edinburgh.</p><p>But even though cases are trending down in Johnson County, state and local health officials are still recommending seniors be cautious about gathering or being in public at all.</p><p>Seniors are the most at-risk group for getting seriously ill or dying from the virus. According to state data, 61.9% of coronavirus-related deaths in Johnson County are among those 80 years or older; another 21.4% is among 70- to 79-year-olds; and another 12.8% is among 60- to 69-year-olds. Only 4.3% of deaths in Johnson County have occurred among individuals under 60, the data shows.</p><p><span><strong>‘The virus is in control’</strong></span></p><p>The two larger senior centers in Johnson County will stay closed for the foreseeable future, leaders said.</p><p>The Social in Greenwood is assessing the situation month-by-month, said Andrea Sutherland, executive director. Since 40% of The Social’s 1,100 members live in Marion County, which has seen the highest numbers of cases and deaths, the board and Sutherland have to consider the situation in both counties as they develop a reopening plan.</p><p>Tracking the virus and gauging safety is ever-changing, so Sutherland is not ready to share any concrete dates, she said.</p><p>“We are not in control. The virus is in control,” Sutherland said.</p><p>On average, about 250 people a day venture into the center for activities such as Euchre and Rock Steady Boxing. Families from Greenwood and the southside of Indianapolis also come in to pickup food at the center’s pantry, she said.</p><p>It is still too risky, she said.</p><p>When The Social does reopen, activities will be phased in. Sutherland is hoping to resume operations at the food pantry and allow it to reopen as a drive-thru. The next thing to reopen would be Rock Steady Boxing classes, with other activities to follow as they are deemed safe, Sutherland said.</p><p>Rock Steady Boxing a non-contact boxing exercise regimen designed to improve quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.</p><p>So far, members have been understanding of the closure and have agreed it’s necessary. Still, many are eager to return, for companionship, and the staff is eager to have them back when it is safe, she said.</p><p>The staff has stayed busy during the closure, routinely checking on its members, sending out newsletters and email blasts, calling them on their birthdays and taking calls from those who rely heavily on the center for companionship.</p><p>The Franklin Active Adult Center, run by the city’s parks department, plans to reopen only after state leaders ease social distancing requirements on seniors, said Chip Orner, the city’s parks and recreation director. About 125 seniors gathered at the Active Adult Center each day for card games, BINGO, luncheons and more, he said.</p><p>“A lot of that stuff is almost impossible to do with social distancing. Until social distancing is lifted, we can’t see opening it back up,” Orner said.</p><p>Given the current situation and the caution the parks board is recommending, it is unlikely activities will resume before fall, he said.</p>
