Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s visually impaired latest to criticise new government app mandate for public

South China Morning News

5th November 2021

Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s visually impaired latest to criticise new government app mandate for public buildings

Advocates for visually impaired people say it is difficult for them to locate and scan the ‘Leave Home Safe’ app’s QR codes The alternative of filling out a paper form, meanwhile, is of little use to those with poor eyesight, they say

The problem is that, from many of our experiences in markets and community centres, there was no staff to help us,” Shing told a radio programme on Friday.

“As you can see, the paper forms are small. The fonts are small as well. It is hard for us, even the people with amblyopia, to fill it in,” he added, using the clinical term for a lazy eye.

There are about 174,800 visually impaired people in Hong Kong, according to the government’s Census and Statistics Department.

Although blind people could change their mobile phone settings to ones designed for the visually impaired, Shing said, it was still difficult for them to use the app without help.

“There is no marking on the [QR code] paper stuck on the wall. They cannot touch the frame [of the paper],” he said. “As you can imagine, even though they can open the app, how can they scan it?”

Many blind people, Shing added, especially those who lived alone, could no longer go to government wet markets, and instead had to do their shopping at supermarkets, which have no such requirements on registering visits.

He suggested the government add a frame to the QR code to make it easier for the visually impaired to find and scan.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3155017/coronavirus-hong-kongs-visually-impaired-latest-criticise