The Omicron variant could drive people who are already experiencing isolation into an even smaller circle of connection.
People First southern region vice-president David King said he was concerned about having to self-isolate if he became unwell.
"You can’t [go anywhere], no-one can see you, your contact will be down to zero and it will affect your confidence and self-esteem," he said.
"If you get sick, who will look after you? If you have no-one, you are really on your own," he said.
People First is a national disabled persons’ organisation run by and for people with learning (intellectual) disability.
Mr King said he was fortunate to have family support if he needed to self-isolate, and had a support service which could deliver groceries and keep in touch remotely.
However, he was unsure if other disabled people in Dunedin would have the same level of support if they had to isolate.
When receiving disability support, there were several safety requirements for clients, including wearing masks, social distancing and sitting in the back of the car when out with support staff, Mr King said.
Wearing masks was challenging at times and there was so much to remember to keep safe when out in the community, he said.
Some felt very nervous about the situation and it felt like going through a minefield to try to understand some of the messages from the Ministry of Health, Mr King said.
Otago Multiple Sclerosis Society field officer Valerie Wilson said people who were normally at home because of their level of disability were concerned about what could happen if they lost access to their carers.
A main carer could be a friend or family member, or it could be trained staff who visited.
"I have already got a client who has support from an agency and she has already been told she won’t be getting that support if she gets Covid."
That was not fundamental support, it was extra social support, and the client could manage by herself, Ms Wilson said.
But others who had physical, intellectual or cognitive disabilities could experience very limited contact as the Omicron outbreak worsened.
"There are a whole lot of us that can’t go and physically see our clients face to face."
New Zealand Health Group (HealthCare NZ and Geneva Healthcare) group chief executive Josephine Gagan said the organisation understood these were challenging times and could be unsettling for the vulnerable people it supported.
‘‘Our organisation will be doing everything we can to ensure the disruption of home-care services is kept to a minimum.’’
As the largest provider of home and community services, it had been preparing for this possibility and had planned responses to various reductions in staffing levels.
‘‘We have significantly increased our recruitment efforts, training and workforce upskilling to help ensure workforce availability.’’
It had partnered with a staffing organisation and was training an additional workforce to come on board in the event of up to 30% of its workforce being away at any one time.
‘‘With these above measures we believe any disruption of services will be kept to a minimum.’’
CCS Disability Action chief executive Melissa Smith said the organisation did not have plans for adding to its workforce but had separated teams into bubbles to minimise the chance of Covid-19 affecting too many people at once.
The organisation had contacted the people it supported to develop individual strategies should they or their support person become sick.
"I feel pretty confident that we do have what we need sorted to be able to continue to provide the support that people are requesting and rely on us to provide."
