As COVID 19 continues
to spread across the world, people are quarantined out of concern for the virus
and due to governments’ mandate. Everyone is experiencing some level of
uncertainty and disruption.
In this situation,
Blind and vision impaired people are facing some additional challenges. They
are less able to practice social distancing, They have to explore things
tactilely and they have to ask others for assistance.
These problems make
Blind persons more susceptible to Corona virus and considering these risk
factors, people may refrain to help them.
We have listed some
resources to help them in this world of Coronavirus pandemic.
Accessible COVID-19 statistics tracker
Much of the data
available regarding Coronavirus is in a graphical form which is not accessible
to print disable persons. Accessible COVID-19 statistics tracker provides all
the data in text form for the easy access of screen reader users.
It provides complete
details of overall cases, cases Reported Today, overall deaths, deaths Today,
recovered, critical Cases and active cases throughout the world.
Accessible Tool for Checking Risk
Factors for COVID-19
Everyone can check
their COVID-19 symptoms with COVID-19 symptoms checker Based on best clinical
practices, CDC guidelines, illness severity and risk factors like age and
pre-existing conditions.
The good news is it is
completely accessible with screen readers. Blind and visually impaired persons
can check their symptoms with a few simple steps.
in the end, it can
never by any mean replace professional medical advice. If you are severely ill,
please visit a doctor or call your national emergency number.
Food delivery services
Under the global
lock down, it is not possible to go and eat at your favorite restaurant. thanks
to accessible food delivery services such as GrubHub, Uber Eats and Food panda.
If you are using smart phone or aware of online grocery and food delivery
services, you can easily order your food and other things.
If you are not aware of
assistive technology, you can use services like gogo grandparent and be in
touch with your friends and family who can help.
Aira and Be my eyes
Be my eyes is a free
application that connects blind and visually impaired persons to sighted
volunteers. Where millions of volunteers are ready to help visually impaired
community to perform different tasks. Aira is another application just like be my eyes, with first five free minutes of assistance.
In this situation,
where physical distancing is necessary more than ever, these applications can
be of great help to explore your surroundings, identifying objects, reading
bills and medical prescriptions and much more.
Accessible fitness
tools
Global pandemic forced gyms
and fitness centers to be closed and fitness tutorials and exercises are
visually presented on the internet. What would we do if we are concerned about
our health and fitness? The answer would be audio-described fitness exercises. Eyes-free fitness YouTube channel may help
in this regard. Also Aaptiv audio fitness app provides audio only workouts.
Finally, stay home,
stay safe and live an independent life.
