Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1231020
3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 APRIL 2020 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications IN its Principles and Statement to Gov- ernments on Disabled People and the impact of the Pandemic of COVID-19 coronavirus, the Commonwealth Disa- bled People's Forum (CDPF) states that "during quarantine, support services, personal assistance, food and clean wa- ter supply, physical and communication accessibility must be ensured to persons with disability". In its statement to the Common- wealth Governments – Malta is rep- resented by our Prime Minister on the Commonwealth of Nations – CDPF brings to their attention a number of recommendations which aim to address the range of risks people with disability face in the present COVID-19 circum- stances. As stated by CDPF, disabled people face the same risk as the rest of the population, compounded by many other issues: disruption of services and support; in some cases pre-existing health conditions, which leave them more at risk of developing serious illness or dying; living in an inaccessible world where barriers to goods and ser- vices are everywhere. The Malta Federation of Organisa- tions Persons with Disability (MFOPD) wants to take this opportunity to high- light the following two recommenda- tions forwarded by CDPF, to the Com- monwealth Governments: Put in place flexible and safe mecha- nisms to authorise disabled people to be able to leave their homes during man- datory quarantines, for short periods and in a safe way, when they experience acute difficulty with home confinement; Government guidelines should ensure that Commonwealth countries focus on particularly vulnerable groups, such as disabled people and their families, when addressing COVID-19. They need to make sure that during the crisis they receive all the support they may need as a result of their greater vulnerability; MFOPD applauds the government and all concerned of how the present coronavirus situation is being con- trolled. It also applauds each and every one of us who, in some form or other, are helping for this virus to be con- tained; MFOPD wants to bring to the at- tention of the authorities that there are families among us who, due to the specific and particular impairment/s of one of the family members, are literally trying to make it until the end of each day. These families need external sup- port which should be given urgently in today's situations. Unfortunately, MFOPD is not aware of the measures to be taken if a person with an intellectual disability is positive to COVID-19 and needs hospitalisation If the above-mentioned have been thought of and are being addressed by the authorities concerned, MFOPD kindly asks for such information to be known to us organisations to be in a position to guide our members. The involvement of persons with disability and their organisations is crucial for good positive outcomes. Marthese Mugliette President, MFOPD Absent God DURING the coronavirus pandemic, God has been "conspicuous" by his ab- sence. In Malta, Catholic priests were told to organise special prayers for the spread of the virus to stop. Despite the "special prayers", the pandemic contin- ues to spread rapidly all over the world, with over 800,000 coronavirus cases, and over 42,000 precious lives lost. The 1918 pandemic infected 500 mil- lion worldwide, killing 50 to 100 million. This massive loss of precious human life gives the lie to the notion of a "personal" God. "Does history support a belief in God? If by God we mean not the creative vitality of nature but a supreme being intelligent and benevolent, the answer must be a reluctant negative... Add to the crimes, wars and cruelties of men, the earthquakes [and] other 'acts of God' that periodically desolate human and an- imal life, and the total evidence suggests either a blind or an impartial fatality..." (Will Durant, The Lessons of History). John Guillaumier St Julian's COVID-19 and people with disability