THE UK Government is under pressure to include British sign language (BSL) interpreters in their daily coronavirus update briefings.
The call would allow those who are deaf or hard of hearing to be able to stay up to date with the latest updates on coronavirus safety and regulations.
The use of BSL interpreters is already used in the Scottish version of the briefings with Nicola Sturgeon.
The call was raised by Deaf Umbrella, a BSL services provider, who tweeted out a call for everyone to retweet and post on social media demanding an interpreter.
🤟❗️Join @ASLIuk at 4:00pm and share and RT their post on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtags: #whereistheinterpreter #covid19 #stayathome #coronavirus
— Deaf Umbrella (@DeafUmbrella) March 25, 2020
We need to get British Government to provide #BSL Interpreters on all national announcements regarding COVID-19. #access pic.twitter.com/qJGKOE1VUS
Around 151,000 individuals across the UK can use BSL, which is the preferred language of more than 87,000 deaf people in the UK, according to the British Deaf Association.
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