When waging psychological warfare one of the most effective weapons is to just repeat an obvious, bald faced lie. The more ridiculous the lie, the more layers of insanity must be unravelled before one can return to the truth.
When faced with such monumental madness, many people will simply shut down. Their mind and spirit cannot cope, and they withdraw as a protection mechanism.
Consider a generation of men whose gallant reputation was founded on their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their mates, their families, their people and their country. This hardy generation continued their reputation for toughness their entire lives, none more so than the ones still going.
Imagine telling these hardy folk that the last years of their lives must be spent in isolation and we have to cancel or severely limit the primary ceremony honouring their sacrifice, just to protect them from the sniffles.
I’d say you’re lucky they’re so old.