{"id":6214,"date":"2020-09-07T13:49:47","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T18:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6214"},"modified":"2020-09-07T13:49:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T18:49:51","slug":"around-the-world-with-covid-19-from-a-blindness-perspective-episode-16-alvaro-gutierrez-reporting-on-the-progression-of-corona-in-a-very-different-society-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6214","title":{"rendered":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective &#8211; Episode 16: Alvaro Gutierrez, Reporting on the Progression of Corona in a Very Different Society and Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4712\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6214-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals? Answer: not until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this sixteenth episode in our series, Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear from Alvaro Gutierrez from Bogota, Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus far we have spanned the globe&nbsp;with&nbsp;blind citizens Around the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and Japan. Now we hear a first-hand report from Alvaro with his unique perspective on how the coronavirus has affected him in Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alvaro Gutierrez hails from Bogota, Columbia, in south America, where he&nbsp;lives with his parents, providing physical, emotional and financial support in a city and country that has seen a difficult progression of COVID-19, from its first case in March 2020 through the evolution of imposed restrictions and the lifting of those same restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alvaro shares his story of how he has provided financial assistance by converting dollars to Columbian pesos, allowing him to purchase valuable groceries and other goods bought on-line, for both his family and his cat. He discusses how food and other essentials are delivered to his home with sanitary precautions, via the elevator in his building,&nbsp;to safeguard his family\u2019s health&nbsp;particularly his parents, who are most vulnerable to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alvaro has reached out to his friends to reassure them that we will make it through this crisis, displaying his positive attitude, which is obvious throughout this podcast. He truly believes that our strength will allow us to prevail and that a cure or vaccine will be found very soon. He has spent his time listening to various genres of music, ranging from classical, to country to soul, all of which he finds inspirational. He has been productive during the quarantine&nbsp;and has taught himself both the NVDA and Jaws screen readers to give him full access to his computer, even without the use of his limited vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, listen as Alvaro shares his words of encouragement to all of us as we continue to fight through this&nbsp;pandemic and come out even better on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, we have added news clips to this podcast to illustrate how the virus entered and progressed in both Bogota and Columbia as a whole. Listen to how the virus, the government restrictions and changes to those restrictions have affected the poorer citizens of Columbia, and impacted not only their financial situations, but their overall health as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>special thanks go out to Chee Chau, for his beautiful song and titled wayfarer.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to tune in to more informative episodes to hear how your BVI counterparts around the world are coping with and adapting to cOVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact Your State Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Sheila.Koenig@state.mn.us\">email<\/a>&nbsp;or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><br>You can follow us on Twitter&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br>On the web at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br>Send us an&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@BlindAbilities.com\">email<\/a><br>Get the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/blind-abilities\/id1085849859?l=es&amp;mt=8\">Free Blind Abilities App&nbsp;on the App Store<\/a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.blindabilities.android.blind&amp;hl=en_US\">Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/607027582712671\/\">Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlindAbilities\/\">Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/jobinsightsgroup\">Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>&nbsp;group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4714\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6214-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/C-19EP16Columbia.mp3 Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals? Answer: not until now. In this sixteenth episode [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,528],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents","category-covid-19-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-1Ce","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6007,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6007","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":0},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective &#8211; Episode 8 &#8211; Sherry Molengraft: In Jacksonville, Florida &#8211; The New Hotbed.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcription Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?\u00a0 In this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5979,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5979","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":1},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective &#8211; Episode 3: Steve Wicketts from England \u2013 Look Out for Your Mates.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. We hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?\u00a0In this series from Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5964,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5964","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":2},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective. A New Series. Episode 1 \u2013 When it Began Down Under.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?\u00a0 In this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6040,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6040","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":3},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective Episode 13 &#8211; Tim McIsaac: A Different Perspective from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcription Show Summary: Guest in this episode: Tim McIsaac, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada\u00a0 Every day we turn on the \u00a0news to see and hear the news with statistics, cases, test rates and more \u00a0reports about COVID-19, to the [point of saturation. \u00a0We hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5974,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5974","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":4},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Episode 2 &#8211; Chee Chau from Malaysia &#8211;  Helping Others.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Every day we are inundated with reports about COVID-19: statistics, new cases, and worse. Every day we hear of how the coronavirus has impacted people all over the world, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals?\u00a0 In this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6223,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6223","url_meta":{"origin":6214,"position":5},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective &#8211; Episode 17: Brigitte Lablache, Seychelles &#8211; Living in Paradise in the Midst of a Pandemic","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary: Every day we are blasted with news updates on the impact of the Corona virus on people in our cities, states and countries, but have we heard specific reports of its effect on blind and visually impaired individuals? \u00a0 This series brings you stories from around the World\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6215,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6214\/revisions\/6215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}