How to protect the disabled from COVID-19
Protecting the disabled from COVID1–19 is not a priority!
It sounds very harsh at first glance but, that’s what the current response to the corona virus sadly looks like. Since December 2019, we have gradually been subjected to a media onslaught of COVID-19 stories. From the daily death toll, the infection rate, lock down speculation and even so-called conspiracy theories. A constant barrage of reports on the economic impact, the lack of adequate testing capacity, political failings and even anxiety-related suicides. This is all very depressing made worse by being in lock down at home while getting pandemic news left right and center. There’s a big five-hundred-pound elephant in the room however, the disabled! While we’ve all been so wrapped up in the impact of social distancing, lock down and other measures on us the able-bodied, the impact on the disabled is not even on our radar it seems. Well, not today because we’re going to highlight these issues for you, and hopefully enlighten you on how the disabled can be protected from this unseen enemy. Greater awareness on your part could help to put more pressure on the powers that be to take swifter action to protect some of the vulnerable in our society.
Here in the UK, the initial impact on the disabled has been as sudden as it has been devastating. According to a survey carried out by ridc.org.uk, 50% of those who have care support requirements have stopped getting health or personal care visits to their place of residence. This due to the government’s lock down restrictions and the number of health care sector workers unable to work because of illness caused by COVID-19, while 20% of those surveyed experienced a significant reduction in services from their local authority. The survey also captured sentiment for those using online shopping, among whom performance by retailers was either poor or very poor. While supermarkets like Tesco have pledged to prioritize those with special needs, there does not appear to be a way to inform the retailer of their vulnerable status in the first place!
The wider national impact is even more distressing. According to the British O.N.S. (Office for National Statistics), over a third of adults with a disability reported being alone for too long since the 23rd of March lock down. A staggering 52.7% of the disabled population have had to self-isolate compared to the 32.3% who were able-bodied. The death toll among those with disabilities is as yet unclear, but this will emerge in the fullness of time. We will keep an eye out for you on that.
So, the question remains. How do we protect the disabled?
The W.H.O. (world health organization) has a set out some guidelines on how the disabled would be dis-proportionally affected by COVID-19 and what measures could be put in place for their protection summarized for you below.
According to the W.H.O. impediments to performing the simple hygienic guidelines, like hand washing using sinks where accessibility and thorough scrubbing of hands is difficult for the disabled. Socially distancing would particularly difficult due to the need for more assistance or since they may reside specialist facilities. Physical contact would often be required to access information in their surroundings or to shore themselves up. This is very worrisome since according to health.com, COVID-19 can stay on surfaces for between 2 to 24 hours in some cases. There may also be difficulty in gleaning information from public health intuitions. Another risk for the disabled is being more susceptible to the more dangerous forms of the corona virus contingent on their pre-existing medical conditions should they contract the disease. Due to COVID-19 making these pre-existing conditions worse especially the ones associated with breathing, the immune system, heart illnesses and diabetes. Less abled individuals could further be adversely affected by the pandemic as compared to others due to major interruptions to services to which they are defendant. These additional challenges for the less abled can be mitigated if the right players in society act.
Okay so now we have broader context on how current guidelines are very difficult to be adhered to for the disabled. Let’s get into of some the measures outlined by the W.H.O. to help protect the disabled.
In cases where physical aides like wheelchairs are used, a disinfectant must be applied to them as often as possible. Contingency plans should be implemented to safeguard the preservation care and assistance required for those who depend on a carer, it also is prudent to increase the number of carers who could be of assistance when required in case some become ill and must quarantine themselves.
In instances where carers are sourced from an agency, it’s important to ask them if they have a backup plan if there is an illness related reduction in their personnel. The less abled should also have discussions with family members to see how they can provide extra assistance and in what situations a disabled person might need to ask for their help. There may also be institutions in the community that could also assist, so it might be worth researching them.
So, what if you contract the virus and are disabled? A frightening thought indeed! The W.H.O. outlines further guidelines on this, starting with preparing the home. Ensuring household members loved ones are kept in the loop regarding with vital information like health insurance details, medications and the care requirements of dependents like kids, elderly relatives and even pets. Loved ones in the household should also be briefed on what actions they should take in cases a less-abled person is infected with the corona virus. Their support system is should all be known to each other for communication purposes in case COVID-19 is contracted. Having the contact details of any medical hotline services would also be useful in case there are any questions or non-emergency medical aid is needed.
So, the key take-a-ways from this article are that social distancing/lock down measure dis-proportionality impact the disabled. They are more vulnerable to the corona virus especially in the case where there are pre-existing medical conditions. Special measures like preparing their homes, contingency plans for supports systems and better knowledge of any other assistance in the community are vital.
Also, that loved ones are properly prepared with the right information in case the corona virus is contracted including medical details and instructions for the defendants of the disabled. We will cover more protective guidelines from the W.H.O. in part two of our series. These will be focused on what governments should be doing to protect the disabled from COVID-19.
We hope you have found this article informative and useful. We hope that greater awareness of this information will help to protect some of the most vulnerable in our society from this unprecedented plague. To support the “Urgos Kettle” project which has greater independence for the disabled at the heart of it’s designed, please back our crowdfunding campaign. Visit our website for more details.
