Michaela Meade
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Language barriers can impact the way people access and understand COVID-19 restrictions, according to the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC).
Metro Melbourne’s recent COVID-19 lockdown, during which the Victorian government implemented a five-kilometre travel radius, and only five reasons for people to leave their homes, highlighted the work being done to spread messaging across communities, no matter what language they speak.
VMC chairperson Vivienne Nguyen said people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, who do not speak English at home or have low English language comprehension, have difficulties accessing standard public health messaging.
As such, it is important for messages to be translated and shared in different community languages, she said.
“When Victorian families and community groups are not able to access and fully understand messages about restrictions and guidelines, the expectation that they adhere to them becomes complex,” Ns Nguyen said.
“Compliance relies on facts and information being shared, understood and put into practice.
“That is why overcoming language and other cultural barriers is essential to ensuring all members of the public can stay safe and abide by changing restrictions.”
Ms Nguyen said distributing health messages via local channels using community leaders was important.
She said the state government has improved its multilingual communications since the start of the pandemic.
“Over the last 16 months the capacity of the Victorian government to connect with CALD communities and communicate critical messages has advanced dramatically,” she said.
In a bid to ensure everyone in the community is able to understand health messages, Hume and Whittlesea councils share graphics and simplified messaging in several languages across their social media channels
Key health and business information has also been translated in 56 languages on the state government’s COVID-19 website.
Details: www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/translated-information-about-coronavirus-covid-19
