Covid-19, non-mandatory masks for the disabled
Genoa, after the bridge, the architectural barriers. Appeal to the mayor and complaint to the AMT
August 3 2020
Trains and disabilities in Italy, stop apartheid!
August 17 2020
The masks have yet to be worn, to mitigate the risks of contagion from Covid-19. But the disabled are excluded by decree, as are children under 6 years old.
Covid-19, forward with optimism and caution
Covid-19 it is still around, despite the good wishes of the deniers. The experience gained in recent months has also made it possible to drastically reduce the prevalence of serious or fatal complications. Which, it should be remembered, were registered essentially in cases of comorbidity, that is to say of the coexistence of two or more serious diseases.
The state of emergency it is extended until 15.10.20, with resolution of the Council of Ministers 29.7.20. (1) The DPCM 14.7.20 has meanwhile confirmed until 31.7.20 the measures already renewed with DPCM 11.6.20 (replacing the relative annexes 1, 2) and the orders of the Minister of Health 30.6.20 and 9.7.20. Others have followed, to regulate the entry into the Italian territory of people arriving from countries at risk.
Personal and social hygiene precautions
The above-mentioned measures to be adopted in the various social activities (transport, catering, accommodation and recreational facilities, events, etc.) are continuously updated at national, regional and municipal level. In a kaleidoscope of rules whose only certainty can be obtained from the consultation, on a weekly if not daily basis, of the Official Gazette and the sites of local institutions.
The precautions basic hygiene - interpersonal safety distance and frequent hand washing above all - must however be maintained. For the express purpose of containing the contagion index within low levels (Rt <1) and protecting, in particular, the most vulnerable groups of the population.
Masks, when and for whom?
The masks they must always be worn in closed rooms open to the public. And outdoors, when the respect for the minimum distance interpersonal of one meter. With two exceptions.
'They are not subject to the obligation children under the age of six as well people with incompatible forms of disability with the continuous use of the mask or the subjects who interact with the aforementioned ' (DPCM 26.4.20, article 3.2. See notes 2,3).
It is forbidden to impose masks on the disabled
Is critical is all understand the meaning and application of the aforementioned national standard, still in force:
- use of a mask by people with various forms of disability can expose them to serious risks of breathing difficulties or in any case to conditions of fatigue, even dangerous. Especially in extreme climatic conditions such as those registered in Italy in recent weeks,
- it is forbidden impose the use of the mask, even in closed rooms or means of transport, to people with disabilities that are not compatible with its continuous use. As is the case with those who are forced to live in a wheelchair or move with a walker, but also with people suffering from various disabilities related to neurological diseases or other chronic diseases that compromise physical and / or respiratory abilities, (4)
- the protection of disabled people and children under the age of 6 with respect to the risk of contagion must instead be guaranteed by respecting the interpersonal distance from others. For example, leaving nearby seats free, on means of transport, when not occupied by their relatives or companions.
for further on health and coronavirus see 'Volume I-People'of our trilogy' Covid-19, the abc ', on https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/covid-19-abc-volume-i-persone_1
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) Resolution of the Council of Ministers 29.7.20. Extension of the state of emergency as a consequence of the health risk associated with the onset of pathologies deriving from transmissible viral agents. (20A04213). In the Official Gazette General Series n. 190 of 30.7.20
(2) Decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (DPCM) 26.4.20. Further implementing provisions of the decree-law 23 February 2020, n. 6, containing urgent measures regarding the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19, applicable throughout the national territory. (20A02352). In GU General Series 27.4.20 n. 108,
(3) See previous article https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/convivere-con-covid-19-il-dpcm-26-4-20-apre-la-fase-2
(4) The issue of masks for the disabled has recently been addressed in the USA since Southeast ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Center and the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), at Syracuse University (New York). See The ADA and Face Mask Policies... 30.7.20
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
