Testing testing! a real concern for Canadians with a disability

As we continue to step gingerly through these horrific times, there are so many thoughts, emotions, feelings, and uncertainties for us to deal with and each is probably as important as the other.

It is not easy to navigate nor understand, but sure enough there are particular communities across our country with very deep concerns and I am going to highlight one very huge and deep one for blind and vision impaired Canadians.  I want to thank my good friend Kim Kilpatrick who raised this issue in a Facebook post.

We keep hearing the words “Testing!  Testing!” and we all want to ensure that we adhere to these words but here is the real challenge for blind and vision impaired Canadians.

What happens if a vision impaired Canadian realizes that they have come down with Corona-like symptoms?  What should they do?

If they choose to make their way to the hospital via public transit or via cab, this poses a huge problem because they would be afraid of spreading the virus.

Then if they were to ask a friend or family member to accompany them to the hospital; they would be putting their family member or friend in jeopardy of contracting the virus thus making them a virus spreader.

So, what should they do?  Would the government be able to come up with a plan whereby vision impaired Canadians who believe that they have virus like symptoms could be tested by a health professional at their homes?

I can only echo Kim’s concern here and hope that someone reads this and can pass on this concern to the appropriate authorities.  In addition, I also believe that this concern would apply to any person with a disability.

We need to remember that in the general scheme of things, it is always going to be much more difficult for a person with a disability to be able to get themselves tested.  Let us put out a call for the government to address this concern with the consideration to develop some sort of home testing mechanism.

Just my two cents for today.

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