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.
Series Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all New Zealanders, but it hasn’t impacted everyone equally. Our disabled and Māori communities have borne the brunt of this pandemic, experiencing major challenges to accessing essential services, and significant struggles during the nationwide lockdowns. However, disabled people have also pulled together to ensure our communities are kept safe, and our people have what they need to get by.
This accessible six part video series showcases the stories of disabled community members across Aotearoa, exploring their experiences of the pandemic during Alert Levels 3 and 4. From making sure they could get kai for their whānau to getting essential help to those who need it most – we hear from disabled kiwis in their own words so that we can ensure a more accessible future for our whole team of 5 million.
This series is brought to you by the DPO Coalition, with funding from the Office for Disability Issues, and proudly produced by Activate Agency. All videos contain NZSL, captions in English and te reo Māori, and Audio Description. Transcripts are available in English, and te reo Māori, and episode summaries are available in plain English.
Episode 4 | Distancing
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.
Accessible Transcript – Word
Transcript – te reo Māori – PDF
Transcript – te reo Māori – Word
Transcript – English – PDF
Transcript – English – Word
Episode summary – plain English – PDF
Episode summary – plain English – Word
