TORONTO -- Based on what disability advocates have seen so far, Canadian cities aren鈥檛 ready for the influx of people temporarily or permanently disabled from COVID-19. Long-term effects include breathing problems, mobility limitations from fatigue, and neurological and sleeping difficulties.
鈥淭his is a whole new source of disability,鈥 Mary Ann McColl, academic lead for the Canadian Policy Disability Alliance and an epidemiologist at Queens University, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
COVID-19 long haulers, as they鈥檙e being called, could be dealing with long-term conditions such as neurological problems, pulmonary fibrosis, inflammation of the heart, and renal insufficiency.
鈥淎nd given that these conditions typically have disabilities associated with them, then it stands to reason that there will be a group of people who acquire new disabilities as a result of having COVID,鈥 McColl said.
Regina-based disability activist John Loeppky told CTVNews.ca in a video interview that Canadian cities and provinces 鈥渁ren鈥檛 prepared for the disabled people that they have鈥 let alone the increase that will undoubtedly come from the COVID-19 pandemic.鈥
While are , a recent study found most hospitalized COVID-19 patients had lingering symptoms, six months after hospitals discharged them -- which is in line with mounting .
currently has at least one disability and, with having lingering symptoms from 鈥,鈥 advocates said newly disabled Canadians aren鈥檛 entering spaces that have put accessibility top of mind traditionally.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be exacerbated a great deal,鈥 author and disability activist Amanda Leduc told CTVNews.ca, explaining Canada has a 鈥渢errible history鈥 when it comes to ensuring accessibility and social inclusion of people with disabilities.
鈥淵ou want people to participate. You want people to feel valued and the way you do that is making sure everyone鈥檚 needs are met,鈥 Leduc said, adding that COVID-19 has only amplified the long-standing idea that accessibility isn鈥檛 a niche concern.
鈥淲e all have different needs. Disabled people鈥檚 needs are not 鈥榮pecial.鈥欌
ADVOCATES CALL FOR MORE SICK DAYS
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite easy to conceive of a situation when you have someone who鈥檚 been suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19 who might have difficulty, for example, getting time off from work or trying to get accommodations because they don鈥檛 look 鈥榙isabled,鈥欌 Leduc said.
Leduc said solutions such as guarantee paid sick leave or more substantive disability payments would help not only the disabled community but also low-wage and essential workers who鈥檇 then have the job security they need to stay home if they鈥檙e potentially infected with COVID-19.
Other advocates argued people with some sort of disability are depending on better polices.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a choice but to be ready,鈥 Sarah Jama, the co-founder of the advocacy group Disability Justice Network of Ontario, told CTVNews.ca in a video interview.
Jama and others argued that , including the to persons with disabilities, the or the -- which provides $450 after taxes per week for up to two weeks -- are insufficient for disabled people.
A report from August found more than half of Canadians with disabilities surveyed were struggling to make ends meet because of the financial fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.
鈥淭he people being left behind this pandemic, and throughout the history of this country, are and have been and will continue to be [the] disabled unless we redefine what it means to have a right to live a valued life,鈥 Jama said, referring to the even more vulnerable subset of , prisons, and living on the streets.
鈥淥ur country does not are or value people outside of our ability to produce鈥 if I can鈥檛 hold a job, or if I can鈥檛 work a 9-5 like everyone else, or if I鈥檓 an injured worker I will be left behind. I will be sentenced to poverty wages, living on social assistance, I鈥檒l be sentenced to housing that is not accessible,鈥 Jama said.
She said the pandemic is a chance for a 鈥渃ultural shift鈥 to introduce programs, such as universal basic income, which don鈥檛 centre government assistance on a person鈥檚 ability to work.
EXPANDING ACCESSIBILITY WILL HELP EVERYONE: LEDUC
Leduc echoed the need for more holistic approaches and a more nuanced view of what constitutes a disability, so people realize they may already be, or will someday be, in that category.
Instead, she urged policymakers to see COVID-19鈥檚 long-term effects as more reason to see everyone on a spectrum -- with some disabilities hitting later in life, being more debilitating than others, or not aren鈥檛 always identified by wheelchair use.
鈥淎nd the country has not done the work to show disabilities come in all sorts of shapes and forms,鈥 Leduc said.
Loeppky noted that far too often provincial and federal governments fail to consult and actually listen to solutions from disability groups, and that needs to change.
He of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance criticizing the Ontario government for its triage policy in hospitals for being discriminatory against patients with disabilities.
Loeppky said listening to disabled people is going to be doubly crucial given there are more people identifying with having a disability overall.
, McColl wrote the rates of people with disabilities are rising in the developed countries due to a number of factors, including: populations aging; more people surviving once-deadly conditions; better data collection; and, more people feeling comfortable to report they have a disability.
Leduc said changes to public policy are always possible but the political will needs to be there. She noted the norm of paid temporary sick days due to disease and infrastructure to work from home were 鈥渢he kinds of accommodations that disabled people have been asking for years.鈥
鈥淭here is this prevailing perception that disability only affects a few people. So accessibility and accommodations are only made for a few select individuals,鈥 she said.
鈥淏ut when you make an accessible world, it鈥檚 a world that everyone can participate in and enjoy.鈥
