Introduction

COVID-19 has impacted our lives suddenly and drastically. From the first cases in China to the millions infected worldwide, attention has focused on those at highest risk of adverse health outcomes: older adults. Yet similarly striking was the lack of attention given to the actual voices of older adults (see Hartt et al, Volume Four; Osborne et al, Volume Three; Low and Loukaitou-Sideris, Volume Three). This is despite previous research having shown that disregarding the voices of older adults in disaster situations may lead to increased anxiety, decreased self-efficacy, and post-crisis stress (Campbell, 2019). Recent COVID-19 studies that pay attention to older people are overwhelmingly based on quantitative, surveybased research. Although very valuable, limited attention is paid to the heterogeneity among older adults. To uncover the diverse voices about experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among older individuals, their close relatives, and people involved in their care, we developed the website www. wijencorona.nl, which translates as ‘Corona and us.’ On this platform, experiences are shared, primarily by older Dutch individuals, but also by people from other countries and younger individuals.

The Dutch government implemented an ‘intelligent’ lockdown, starting in March, 2020 (Antonides and van Leeuwen, 2020). This approach to managing the pandemic appealed to solidarity and self-discipline in order to comply with social distancing, and staying at home as much as possible. Essential shops and services remained open, and people were allowed to go out when deemed necessary, unlike in other countries, such as France. During this ‘intelligent’ lockdown and the pandemic's first wave (March–May 2020), almost 250 people from four different continents shared their stories on our website. Each contribution averaged around 700 words, providing rich detail and examples of life during the pandemic. In this chapter, we focus only on the stories shared by individuals aged 50 years and older, which by June 2020, comprised a total of 191 individuals. We present four examples – Mbarek, Joke, Wim, and Maria – that represent the broader discourses and experiences found throughout this project as we explored and analyzed the voices of older adults during the first wave of COVID-19 in the Netherlands (for a similar approach, see Rocco et al, Chapter Twelve). More specifically, we delve into their views of experiencing COVID-19 in an urban or rural context. We draw upon these stories to discover opportunities for rural and urban futures.