Practicing good distancing has been essential for us to stop the spread of Covid-19 in Aotearoa. Disabled people are amongst the most at risk from the virus, so we know that distancing is a critical part of keeping our community safe.
However, it also comes with challenges for some disabled people. While some services found ways to continue with good distancing, like Jenna’s support worker checking in from the front door, for other members of our community there were challenges. As a blind cane user, Jonathan found it difficult to keep a good distance from other people during the pandemic. If they were touching his cane – they were already too close!
It’s important for everyone in Aotearoa to understand disabled experiences during the pandemic, so we can all play our part to ensure good distancing.
Play episode 4 to learn what distancing was like for our community during Covid Alert Levels 3 & 4.
This video contains the following accessibility features: NZSL, Captions in English & te reo Māori; Audio Description.
The DPO Coalition acknowledges the contribution of all disability sector organisations to make sure that the wellbeing of, informational needs, and support for disabled people was monitored and improved upon throughout the impact of COVID-19.