For those reliant on lip reading and facial expressions to communicate, increased mask usage has made life more difficult MADRID: More than 1 million deaf and hard of hearing people in Spain have been left even more isolated due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. With the country one of the worst-hit by the pandemic, the wearing of protective face masks has become common place. But for those reliant on lip reading and facial expressions to communicate, increased mask usage has made life more difficult. In addition, the Spanish government-imposed lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in a shortage of sign-language interpreters and reduced medical assistance at hospitals making it hard for deaf patients to communicate with doctors and nurses. Sign-language interpreter, Inmaculada Hortal, said: “We have received many calls lately from deaf people who had to go to hospital with COVID-19 symptoms, and we realized that there was a huge communication gap that had become worse because of the use of masks and a shortage of interpreters due to the lockdown. “They (deaf people) are very anxious and stressed due to the lack of information. But we are trying our best to help them overcome this situation.” Antonio Jesus Vega, the co-founder and director of Madrid-based company Comunicados, said his mother and father were both deaf and they had always required the help of him and his sister to carry out daily household chores. His firm assists the deaf and hard of hearing through several initiatives, including medical assistance via the use of remote sign-language interpreting. “Our platform provides services to health centers and hospitals across the country via video chat in real time in order to communicate with patients who are deaf and users of sign language,” he said. Access to COVID-19-related information has been crucial in Spain, but although official announcements are broadcast in sign language, not all news programs have been providing the service. “We offer the news in sign language on our social media channels to provide important and relevant information about the situation, similar to what we all get but not always accessible in sign language,” Vega added. The firm has initiatives for children who are deaf or have debilitating hearing loss, allowing them to watch storytelling videos in sign language through the platform. “We also offer a service through our network of interpreters to any deaf person to shop on the phone or make any call of primary importance amid the coronavirus situation. “We make sure all deaf people are served and have a quality service that is accessible during quarantine,” he said. Although the presence of an interpreter is still necessary to help with communication, some factories in Spain have been offering transparent masks specially adapted with a plastic window to make lip reading easier. The Apersorje Association, based in the southern Spanish city of Jerez, has passed on hundreds of the masks to hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets and other essential services. Vega’s father, Pedro Jesus, is the association’s president and said his son’s Comunicados platform was an especially important tool. “It allows us to communicate between deaf and non-deaf people in real time, with hospitals or police using sign language. Communicating together like this gives us a great satisfaction,” he said.