Faced with the complex situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and persons with disabilities, the Venezuela’s Ombudsman’s Office, through its head Alfredo Ruiz, called to preserve the health and lives of people with a disability, making public some recommendations for guarantee their human rights.
In particular, in health centers, ensure priority testing of people with disabilities who present symptoms. Guarantee them the appropriate treatment for their condition; including all necessary resources such as respirators or access to intensive care if necessary.
Ensuring the continuous supply and access to medicines for people with disabilities during the pandemic. In particular to patients with pre-existing diseases (such as cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases, among others).
Likewise, he calls on the institutions where some of these people reside (nursing homes, psychiatric centers, penitentiaries), among others, to prioritize tests and promote preventive measures to reduce the risks of infection, addressing overcrowding, applying physical distancing measures to residents, modifying visiting hours, requiring the use of protective equipment and improving hygiene conditions with permanent disinfection programs.
It is also important that society through the Communal Councils, Communes, Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP) and Condominiums become aware of the rights and priorities of people with disabilities and can provide them with the necessary support to guarantee their human rights.
Finally, the call of the Ombudsman’s Office is that all those State institutions that guarantee the human rights of people with disabilities allow all services related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including public information, about supplies and essential services, on equal terms with other people, provide them with accessible platforms in alternative formats, modes and methods of communication.
