The Japanese government is expected to prioritize medical workers and elderly people for vaccination against COVID-19, as work to develop vaccines for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus shifts into full gear.
Representative of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Yukio Edano, has appealed for the creation of a benefit to support persons with disabilities whose income has been reduced due to the new coronavirus.
The largest proportion, at 84 clusters, or 35.3 pct of the total, was at hospitals. Social welfare facilities, such as nursing homes for the elderly, came in second, with 62 clusters, or 26.1 pct.
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus many home-care facilities that offer helpers to people with disabilities who have difficulties going out by themselves are suffering from lower revenues.
A group of women in Higashisonogawa, Kawatana “Wahaha de Mina” (representative Naoko Fujita) has called on people to donate unwanted cloth masks distributed by the government to all households to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection. For up to 30 days, collection boxes will be installed at convenience stores in the town. The collected masks are handed over to the disabled facilities in the town.
As a preventive measure against the new coronavirus infection, Kyoto Prefecture introduced a service from the June 9 that allows people with hearing impairments to use sign language interpreters remotely using smartphones or tablet terminals.
A Japanese government institution has developed a smartphone app designed to prevent elderly people from developing dementia amid restraints on going out and other activities away from home due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
A workshop on preventing the spread of the new coronavirus was held in Kawanishi City for staff members of facilities for the disabled.
The ‘Reiwa Shinsengumi’, a political party that highlights disability issues, and was created by Taro Yamamoto, responded with a poster about financial problems the vulnerable might face during the coronavirus crisis in Japan.
In April, the health ministry urged the country’s 47 prefectures to call off cancer screenings in principle to prioritize coronavirus-related treatments. The move was also aimed at avoiding the three Cs of closed and crowded spaces involving close contact, seen as high-risk environments during the virus crisis.
Barrier Free Japan