Seite - 439 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
Bild der Seite - 439 -
Text der Seite - 439 -
439Weighing
Public Health and Mental Health Responses to Non-ComplianceâŠ
pandemic.12 While these reports do not involve people with mental ill-
ness, they do reflect an environment of heightened stress and intoler-
ance of perceived risk and norm-breaking behaviour. Behaviour that
appears unpredictable or aggressive may also increase the risk of con-
flict with law enforcement during the pandemic.13
Thus, in light of the vulnerabilities they face as a group, along
with current public health requirements, people with mental illness
may be at increased risk of experiencing or causing novel forms of
harm during the pandemic. The risks will differ based on the per-
sonâs individual mental and physical health, whether he or she is
infected with the coronavirus or not, and the specific nature of his or
her behaviour.
How Does the Mental Health Act Apply to These Risks?
We now consider how Ontarioâs mental health legislation would
respond to the kinds of harms and scenarios described above, involv-
ing a failure to follow public health directives. Public health authori-
ties have determined that the coronavirus poses a serious threat to
public health, but would the risk of contracting or transmitting it fit
within the types of risks to which the mental health legislation seeks
to respond by involuntary hospitalization?
The mental health law attempts to strike a balance between
the civil liberties of people with mental illnesses and the use of state
power to forcibly intervene to protect them and others from risk of
harm resulting from their mental illness. Ontarioâs Mental Health Act
allows involuntary hospitalization against a personâs will in one of
two types of situations:
12. Lucy Quaggin, âCoronavirus update: NSW Health Minister announces mas-
sive fine for those abusing frontline workersâ, 7Â News (9 April 2020), online:
<7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/coronavirus-update-nsw-health-min-
ister-announces-massive-fine-for-those-abusing-frontline-workers-c-967171>;
Matt Loffman, âAsian Americans describe âgut punchâ of racist attacks during
coronavirus pandemicâ, PBS (7 April 2020), online: <www.pbs.org/newshour/
nation/asian-americans-describe-gut-punch-of-racist-attacks-during-corona-
virus-pandemic>; Lily Kuo & Helen Davidson, ââThey see my blue eyes then
jump backââChina sees new wave of xenophobiaâ, TheÂ
GuardianÂ
(29 March 2020),
online: <www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/china-coronavirus-anti-for-
eigner-feeling-imported-cases>; Jacquie Miller, âVirus vigilantes: âMy neighbour
isnât self-isolatingââ, Ottawa Citizen (2 April 2020), online: <ottawacitizen.com/
news/local-news/virus-vigilantes-my-neighbour-isnt-self-isolating/>.
13. Pringle, supra note 4.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Titel
- VULNERABLE
- Untertitel
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Autoren
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Verlag
- Ottawa Press
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Seiten
- 648
- Kategorien
- Coronavirus
- International