Here's How To Help Specially-Abled People Affected By Coronavirus Lockdown

Amid the lockdown that started on March 25, there¡¯s something a lot of us might not have given much thought to - how the differently-abled community is coping with it. How are they getting through the day given the new reality of a lockdown? What about the institutional obstruction the lockdown is causing them? And is the government taken enough steps to resolve their issues?

Let¡¯s face it, in a country where provisions for the disabled people are still rudimentary, a lockdown-like the situation is only going to complicate their lives ten folds. The lockdown has led to a near non-availability of personal protection equipment, poor supplies of medicines and unavailability of support staff - all of these aspects have compounded the problem for disabled people.

By now, it¡¯s common knowledge that COVID-19 is extremely dangerous for people with underlying health conditions. The WHO, which is currently at the forefront of the COVID-19 response, spoke about how people with disability are the most vulnerable when it comes to contracting the virus, purely because of specific disabilities or chronic conditions they might already have.

One of the most important aspects of the nation-wide lockdown is social distancing¡ªbut for people with disabilities, social distancing is simply not a viable option. For instance, if nursing care is required round the clock. the person with a disability would be at constant risk of a viral infection, assuming the caregiver would at some point also be required at the hospital for help. It¡¯s a vicious circle and something that¡¯s not been given too much attention.

Disabled people speak up

Reuters/Picture For Representation

In the wake of the lockdown, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment directed the law enforcement authorities across the country to give people with disabilities priority in treatment; help their caregivers reach them without any problems, and help with their daily supplies in the midsts of the lockdown.

Despite the supposed government provisions, the ground reality seems entirely different. People with disabilities have taken to social media to highlight the fact the required assistance is not being provided to them. Take for instance the tweet below by Virali Desai - a Mumbai-based motivational speaker who wrote, ¡®I¡¯m disabled and I live alone, I need my maid who cooks and does other physiological care for me. Due to the virus, she won¡¯t be able to come. What do we do about these situations?'

I¡¯m disabled and I live alone, I need my maid who cooks and does other physiological care for me. Due to the virus, she won¡¯t be able to come. What do we do about these situations? @MumbaiPolice @MoHFW_INDIA #CoronavirusLockdown

¡ª Virali Modi (@Virali01) March 24, 2020

Virali Modi, who is wheelchair-bound, started a petition on Change.org, addressed to home minister Amit Shah and Social Justice and Empowerment minister Thaawarchand Gehlot, saying there is need for the government to lay focus on issuing permits to caregivers helping the disabled across the country. 'During the three weeks of lockdown, persons with disabilities would require guidance to navigate to the hospital, medical stores or places to fetch essential commodities. The government needs to be mindful of our restrictions', her petition reads.

After Viral Modi¡¯s tweet went viral, the Mumbai Police responded and immediately resolved her problem. The issue is that there are many like Virali who perhaps, won't tweet or start a petition. That does not mean they shouldn't get the help and assistance they require.

Social distancing poses challenges for people with disabilities as many are highly dependent on carers pic.twitter.com/ebWQ2WUnXX

¡ª TRT World (@trtworld) March 23, 2020

As the lockdown continues, a volley of major problems have come to the fore - for instance, regular sanitising, getting food and other essential commodities, isn¡¯t an easy task for people with disabilities. Nipun Malhotra (with a rare congenital disability) posted a video on challenges during coronavirus outbreak. ¡°Somebody like me cannot practice social distancing because I am dependent on others for my basic physiological need, I cannot even wash my hands, because I am dependent on somebody else, who would wash my hands which itself is a physical touch,¡± he said.

A crisis that¡¯s been brewing for years

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Statistics, 2.2 per cent of India¡¯s population is disabled. Social distancing by maintaining at least a metre¡¯s distance from each other, has merely doubled the stigmatisation the disabled community faces on a daily basis.

Take for instance this case of over 10 deaf and mute workers who were stranded in Gurgaon factories post the 22nd March Janta Curfew. They had no means to communicate and the helpline numbers provided by the government in this crisis were of no use to them. According to The New Indian Express report, a group of four Madhya Pradesh natives first made video calls to two of their acquaintances in Indore, who knew sign language, and explained their plight to them on phone in sign language.

Speaking to the daily, sign language expert, Purohit, said there could be more such persons stuck in Gurgaon and elsewhere in the country and the district administration should pro-actively look for means to communicate with people who need a specific sort of assistance.

The need of the hour

From public footpaths, hospitals with no ramps, inaccessible public transport and lack of public restrooms for the disabled, pertinent issues that await a concrete solution in cities across the country. At this hour of crisis, the government must address these issues.

Satendra Singh¡ªa doctor at GTB Hospital in Delhi and disability rights activist¡ªsent a letter to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, on March 22, saying that a lot of the COVID-19 measures are not disabled-friendly. A Hindustan Times report quoted Dr Satendra Singh's letter, which stated many health-care professionals who have a disability are being forced to work.

The letter read, ¡®Disabled doctors also face a lot of problems navigating, because they need to hold on to railings will walk which makes them susceptible to catching infections'.

'Professionals with disabilities may be exempted while performing Aerosol-Generating Procedures, work restriction and sick leave policies for them should be non-punitive, flexible, and consistent with disability accommodations as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016', the letter sent on March 22, read.

There are organisations who are doing their bit to provide care for the disabled. The Blind People's Association has initiated a project named 'Helping Hands', under which they provide grocery kits to poor disabled people affected by the lockdown.

A Facebook post read, 'The kit comprises 5 kg rice, 1kg tuver daal, 1 kg Mung daal, 3 kg Wheat flour, and 1 ltr oil. It cost 400 rs per kit. I request you to extend your support to this cause. You can donate online through'.

In an interview with Indiatimes, Baikunth Roy, an Assistant Professor of Economics at Pataliputra University said, "All of us at some point get disabled, take for instance people at their old age. For people like these the government should have taken more pro-active steps in prioritising and safeguarding their interests.¡±

Roy added, "There¡¯s a very little perspective on the ways COVID-19 could affect the lives of the disabled community. Something as simple as hand-washing or basic precautions can be a task for people with disability. They cannot move about and understand the situation the way normal people would."

¡°The government should have taken steps early on, for instance, under the Jan-Dhan Yojana, they could have increased the allowance for the disabled community, Public distribution system could have take steps to increase the special allowance for the disabled,¡± Roy told Indiatimes.

Roy, who is also pursuing a PhD on the ¡®economics of disability¡¯ in JNU, emphasised that the problem lies with the implementation of policies. He said, ¡°The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued the first advisory as late as March 5, 2020, and the document did have comprehensive disability-inclusive guidelines but the loophole lie in the implementation.¡±

"The government must aim at launching an ¡®accessible web portal¡¯ for the disabled to disseminate information related to the coronavirus crisis in regional languages," said Roy.

Over and above the measures suggested above, Roy hopes for an efficient door-step delivery at affordable rates for the disabled, separate rehabilitation and quarantine centres and special training for health professionals to deal with disabled.

At a personal level, this is the right time to show support for those who need help. If you ever see a disabled person trying to navigate his or her way to an ATM, market or even hospital, do everything to lend a helping hand, even the smallest gesture will aid in blurring the line of discrimination.