NASHVILLE – Responding to complaints filed by alarmed Tennesseans with severe disabilities and their advocates, as well as similar groups from Alabama, Kansas and Washington, the head of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is telling states and health providers that civil rights protections remain in effect during the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic.
“HHS is committed to leaving no one behind during an emergency, and this guidance is designed to help health care providers meet that goal,” OCR Director Roger Severino stated in guidance issued Friday. “Persons with disabilities, with limited English skills, or needing religious accommodations should not be put at the end of the line for health services during emergencies.”
Severino added that “our civil rights laws protect the equal dignity of every human life from ruthless utilitarianism.”
But worry remains in Tennessee and elsewhere that Severino’s action don’t completely address the potential problem. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tennessee, meanwhile, rose to 1,373 early Saturday, a 14.13% jump from Friday’s 1,203 figure.
“Of course, we are all pleased that OCR acted quickly to get out a bulletin, but it does not assuage all of our concerns,” said Carol Westlake, the Tennessee Disability Coalition’s executive director, in an email to the Times Free Press on Saturday.