Senior people are encouraged to take extra care of their health as they are more likely to have severe symptoms of COVID-19, a health expert said on Tuesday.

Li Yanming, senior doctor at Beijing Hospital said the first thing for the elderly is to get vaccinated and booster jabs.

They need to refrain from going out, especially to populated indoor places, she said. Senior people with chronic diseases should take better care of their conditions and take medication for the diseases, she said at a news conference.

They are encouraged to keep good habits, sleep well, have good nutrition and do not become too nervous, and cut their exposure to alcohol and tobacco, Li said.

Family members who do not live with the elderly also need to reduce visiting them to limit the exposure to the virus, she said.

Once people who live with them get infected, the elderly people need to live in a separate room and pay more attention to ventilation and disinfection, she added.

Wang Huaqing, chief immunization planning expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said seniors that have not gotten vaccinated should do so immediately as it takes one to two weeks to get antibodies.

For the body to have high-level antibodies, it usually takes four weeks after full immunization, he said.