Older people in the poorest parts of England were more than twice as likely to feel isolated and lonely during the first coronavirus lockdown than those in the richest areas, research has suggested. A third (33%) of older people in the poorest 20% of areas felt isolated during the first lockdown, according to research led by University College London (UCL) and the University of Manchester. This compares to 16% of those in the richest quintile. Researchers analysed data from 4,709 men and women aged over 50 who were part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) before the pandemic and during the first two lockdowns in 2020.