Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people

The Coronavirus pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on disabled people, including people with sight loss. National statistics found 6 in 10 people who die of COVID-19 are disabled.

We’ve heard directly from service users about the challenges they experienced during lockdown and the accessibility of information regarding social distancing measures and other restrictions. Many blind and partially sighted people continue to face challenges as lockdown restrictions come to an end and this is impacting their confidence when re-entering public life. Pavement parking, additional street clutter and accessible information are just a handful of the issues blind and partially sighted people are facing and it’s having a negative impact on their quality of life.

Legal rights to accessible and inclusive information should be strengthened and further assessment on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on disabled people is needed to identify best practice and areas for improvement, and how equality impact assessments can be enhanced to assess any future restriction changes or future pandemics.

Why the contribution is important

As the number of people who are blind or partially sighted in Scotland is set to increase by 30,000 in the next decade to over 200,000 people, it’s vital their experience is assessed to understand the additional challenges faced by those with visual impairments during lockdown and how this can be avoided in the future.

by SightScotland on September 27, 2021 at 02:07PM

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