It’s too early to ease indoor capacity limits and eliminate the COVID-19 vaccination passport program, say local accessibility advocates who feel the provincial decision discriminates against them by making public spaces less safe.
Without capacity limits in places such as restaurants, where people aren’t always required to wear a mask, they’re concerned about a spike in virus transmissibility, especially among those who are unvaccinated, and a potential further drain on healthcare resources.
“It seems to be disproportionately disabled people who are impacted by that,” commented Guelph’s Erin Caton, chair of the Environmental Sensitivities Coalition of Canada, explaining higher hospitalization rates means decreased availability for specialized care such as the infectious disease specialist she depends on.
“You can kind of guess where they’re working right now.
“There’s no way to not feel discriminated against.”
As of Thursday, the province is removing capacity limits for indoor settings where proof of vaccination is required – restaurants, gyms, cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and more.
On March 1, proof of vaccination will no longer be needed.
So far, the restrictions have worked well to limit transmission and allow people to feel safer in public settings, Caton said.
She and others believe there will be a significant portion of the population who don’t feel comfortable being indoors with more people just yet, especially once the vaccination passport program ends and the status of others nearby is unknown.
“When you make a place a lot less safe for people to go in, then you’re basically negating anyone who has a high-risk issue or an immune deficiency from being in that space,” she said, noting anyone who’s concerned about spreading the virus to a loved one may also think twice before going out.
As an example, Caton explained she and her recently doubly-vaccinated 10-year-old daughter were planning to venture out for some patio dining but that’s been called off.
“The additional safety measures being taken away makes me feel like that’s no longer safe to do,” she said. “It seems like that’s no longer going to be a viable option.”
Mike Greer, who has a rare bone disease and uses a wheelchair, agrees the lifting of restrictions disproportionately impacts people with existing medical conditions. He’s planning to take in a movie with his wife at a theatre on Wednesday, hours ahead of capacity increases.
“We know there are restrictions in place so we feel more comfortable being in a theatre at that point in time,” he said.
“It doesn’t feel like a structured plan,” Greer added of the restrictions being lifted. “Many people with disabilities have compromised immunities, so not feeling completely comfortable being out in public these days.”
Greer is chair of the city’s accessibility advisory committee, though he spoke with GuelphToday as an individual and not as a committee representative.
He plans to wear a mask “into the foreseeable future” when attending public, indoor settings – something he feels has become a divisive issue in the community locally and beyond.
“We fight enough prejudice for conditions that we may have, be it if it’s slurred speech, mobility issues, sensitivity to chemicals and stuff like that, sometimes we’re not heard on some of our concerns,” he said. “Is that going to be another target on people with disabilities, to come after them, berate them?”
