Covid-19: Deaf woman struggles through daily tasks as mask mandates tighten

Tuesday, 1 February 2022

Candice David wants retailers to educate their staff on communicating with the Deaf community.

Candice David loves her morning coffee.

Every day, she heads to her favourite shop in Palmerston North, but for a moment sits in her car summoning the courage to walk in.

David is Deaf and knows the road to getting her coffee is now marred with anxiety. Covid-19 means those behind the counter must wear masks.

What was a challenging but often straightforward process is now next to impossible.

Sublime barista Jordan Kupe (left) navigates communicating through a mask with Candice David.

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David was previously able to navigate social situations by relying on lip-reading and facial expressions. Now she could only see eyes peering back at her.

Candice David says learning a simple sign phrase such as ‘thank you’ will make a big difference.

“It gives me a lot of anxiety,” she said. “It means I don’t want to go places. I had an incident at a fast food place where the staff ended up abusing me – that was the worst. That's when I thought, ‘I can't do this any more’.”

Mask rules tightened after the arrival of Omicron and David said she was struggling to communicate her way through daily tasks.

“Members of the Deaf community are getting very frustrated. It's a huge barrier for them.

“I have a few places I know I can go where I feel comfortable, because they know me and understand how to help me, but many places I go I get an attitude, and it makes me uncomfortable.”

She said the last two years had been difficult and she noticed a lack of understanding towards the Deaf community.

“I don’t think the wider community understands, they don’t think about it. Most people just don’t get it, they don’t know how to communicate with Deaf people.”

Candice David has had to adjust to new mask wearing rules but says there is not enough thought given to the Deaf community.

David said there were simple things business owners could do to help staff communicate better.

“It would be good if managers would just raise some awareness when they train their staff.

She said things like having flash cards would be helpful in a shop.

“Messages that just say ‘good morning’, ‘can I take your order?’ or ‘would you like a coffee?’ would make a big difference to our day.”

Providing a pen and paper for staff and customers to write back and forth would also help, she said.

“They could also learn some simple sign language, like for ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Just using one little sign makes a big difference.

“Something as small as ‘thank you’ in sign language would be lovely and helps break down the barriers.”

Retail NZ chief executive officer Greg Harford said Covid-19 restrictions created new challenges for retailers and efforts had been focused on encouraging people to mask up.

“There is clearly a need to educate retailers around the use of masks and what they are able to do in terms of the Deaf community.

“There is a large group of people who legitimately require exemption, and this includes a provision for retailers to pull down their masks in order to communicate to a member of the Deaf community.”

Minister for Disability Carmel Sepuloni said, in a written statement, the Ministry of Health updated its guidance on face coverings and exemptions on January 27.

“If you are non-disabled and need to remove your mask to communicate with a person who is Deaf, hard of hearing or who is Deaf-blind you can, if you feel safe to do so, and you should maintain physical distance.

“This would be greatly appreciated by a person who is Deaf or hard of hearing.”

Recent advice on the Ministry’s website stated mask wearing requirements were there for everybody’s safety.

However, some situations required understanding and kindness in order to maintain safety, while helping disabled people navigate their lives.