Blind masseurs who are now required to be screened for COVID-19 before resuming operations are thankful for the free COVID-19 tests by BH Healthcare Group and Doctors2u.

Government servants returning to Malaysia after performing official duties, people with disabilities, and students returning to the country for the first time have been exempted from paying for Covid-19 tests, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

Deciding who is and isn’t disabled, who does and doesn’t deserve accommodation, is complicated. Most efforts to distinguish fakers from “real” disabled people usually do more harm than good.

About 3,300 staff, residents and clients of various homes, shelters and centres will be tested for COVID-19 by tomorrow, Singapore’s Social and Family Development minister Desmond Lee announced. These include people from voluntary children’s homes, crisis shelters and children’s disability homes.

COVID-19 screenings at the airport will be free for students who are returning for the first time and the disabled, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The compulsory Covid-19 screening tests at airports for returning Malaysians will be free for those who are either disabled or students, says Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

There are 88,352 preschool, primary and secondary school students, according to the Education Ministry, who have global developmental delay (GDD), intellectual disability, autism, Down Syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyscalculia (severe difficulty in making arithmetic calculations), dysgraphia (unable to write coherently) and dyslexia (difficulty in reading or interpreting words, letters and other symbols), among other learning disabilities.

The initiative was started by UNICEF in partnership with the National Early Childhood Intervention Council to support parents and enable them to continue therapy practices for their special needs child in the comfort of their own home.

Although the movement control order (MCO) has caused much disruption, it did spur rapid digital transformation across sectors including special education, and increased parental involvement. Unicef Malaysia Child Protection and Disability specialist Zoe Gan said it was often thought that teletherapy – a remote therapy method that uses technology to help therapists and clients communicate – wouldn’t be able to provide the same experience for children with disabilities, and that having face-to-face sessions would be best.