The Secondary Effects of COVID-19 on the Disabled Community

Disabled boy dies in China after father quarantined, BBC

The date is March 13th. According to live statistics, there are 163,306 Coronavirus cases across the globe, and so far 6,086 deaths. Thankfully, with the high recovery rate, 76,219 people have survived this pandemic. However, it is important to understand that these numbers will change and should be taken with a grain of salt. The numbers of those recovering per day will fluctuate and perhaps rise once more test kits become available.

The internet has officially blown up, across all social platforms. Nearly every video is about the novel virus. From Trump’s recent confusing and insensitive address, to people drawing eerie connections between what’s happening in Netflix’s Contagion to what’s happening in real life, spreading panic, misinformation, and fear.

In times like these, it’s important to look to systems of order for peace, hope and the reminder to be calm. The WHO and CDC are still monitoring the situation, working on a vaccine. Earlier today, UofT sent out a memo regarding the situation. They were alerting students about their decision to cancel all club meetings and to advise us to officially switch undergraduate or graduate courses to go online for the rest of the term. This they trust will prevent social contact and the spread of the virus.

If we all do our part by washing our hands, keeping our faces hand free, isolate for two weeks if we are sick, and not allowing ourselves to take unnecessary risks, Toronto may have a chance to remain “normal” until a vaccine is released.

Having said that, Toronto’s “normalcy” has a negative side to it. If we all are living life with at least some form of a regular life, it will limit our vision to what is just in front of us, and not show us what’s happening around us.

To understand who is the most affected, the WHO states: “COVID-19 affects older persons and persons with pre-existing medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, cancer or diabetes). These appear to develop serious illness more often than others.

However, what people don’t know are the secondary effects of the virus such as racism, ageism, violence, unnecessary deaths and many events being postponed. The worst part of this is many of these secondary effects are impacting the disabled community the most.

Just three days ago, The Times Herald published an article regarding the postponing of the Special Olympics. Since 1896, the Olympic Games has been one event that had brought the entire globe together for a time of fun and games. It would not be until 1968 that athletes with disabilities would be able to compete in their own Olympics. However, with the postponing of the Special Olympics, athletes will have to wait until later to attend. Even though it is disappointing, the decision reflects a health concern for the athletes. Scott Otterbein, Special Olympics Montgomery County manager states: “The special Olympics population needs more protection than the average athlete. ” Even though to become a Special Olympian you must have intellectual disabilities, as Otterbein explains, there are athletes who have medical conditions that put them at a higher risk of getting COVID-19.

Founder of Deaf Pioneers, a non- profit organization located in Trinidad, Sharon Henry explains that their program of visiting the houses of deaf persons who are unable to visit their center has been on hold due to the COVID-19. This is forcing them to switch their programs and activities to online versions.

In Canada, we are lucky to have multiple health organizations to provide us information about this pandemic in several languages, but what about the Deaf and Blind? According to the New York Times, within the craziness of the outbreak, local officials in Wuhan forgot about those who have disabilities. Information about the virus was not translated into Sign Language, and so many deaf individuals ventured outside to socialize when the city was on lockdown. Eventually these individuals got themselves sick, and most of them had trouble communicating with doctors and nurses what was wrong with them.

Wanting to know what other countries are doing about this issue, I reached out to Cheryl Ann Grant, a Special Education Coordinator who says. “there is an effort to provide information daily to the public via the media houses and social media. News conferences are presented with sign language interpreters for the Deaf where appropriate.”

In addition to the sharing of information, Grant says in our online interview, that education of the virus is important. Considering the nature of the novel virus, having schools understand the severity of the situation was integral to their safety as Grant states: “Before the shutdown of schools were instructed by Ministry of Education (MOE) to educate students on the topic and we were included at the school for the Deaf.”

An even worse secondary effect of the coronavirus is when the caregiver of a severely disabled person gets the virus, and the disabled person dies of neglect. That was the case for 16-year-old Yan Cheng from the Hubei province. Yan Chen was born with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a permanent movement disorder that causes poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. As a result, it requires care 24/7. The BBC states that Yan Chen was taken care of by his father, but he was then taken away to be quarantined. After one week, Yan Chen was found dead due to a lack of food.

What does this mean for Toronto? Firstly, Toronto needs to take precautions. They need to cancel or postpone big events to prevent spread and to encourage social distancing. They have already done this in the schools. Starting this week, both elementary and High schools will be closed for three weeks to ensure that if people do travel during March Break, they will have two weeks of isolation. For post-secondary institutions like the University of Toronto, they will be canceling all in-classes, prompting courses to use an online presence for the next term. For the disabled community, I reached out to the York Region, and spoke to Lynn Lockhart-Menzies, a Regional Hearing Resource Teacher to find out what YRSB is doing in light of the Coronavirus. In addition to the temporary closure of all schools across the board, York Region’s VOICE for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children has postponed their conference from May 2/3, 2020 to October 2/3, 2020.

Secondly, the education and sharing of information about the virus must be available in Blog in various languages including braille, and sign language so that everyone will be able to be up to date.

Thirdly, persons with severe disabilities need to be cared for if their caregiver gets sick and is quarantined.

If we really want to make it through this tough time, Toronto needs to pay attention to everyone, including those with disabilities. We can not exhibit a behavior of survival. The strongest will make it alive while the weak are left to die within the chaos of it all. Instead of going crazy, and allowing every dystopian novel to come to life, we need to calm down, do our part and let the system do its job.

Stay Home,

Stay Safe,

Stay Healthy.