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14 August 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied
Max du Preez, Editor: Vrye Weekblad (top left), was the facilitator was the facilitator for Thursday’s UFS Though-Leader webinar that included Prof Salim Abdool Karim, Director: Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and Chair: South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 (top right); Prof Glenda Gray, President and CEO: South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) (bottom left); and Prof Felicity Burt from the UFS and NRF-DST South African Research Chair in Vector-borne and Zoonotic Pathogens Research (bottom right), participated in Thursday’s Though-Leader webinar.

Although the decline in COVID-19 cases is a promising sign for South Africa, there are concerns about a second surge, and the country should not become complacent.

This was the opinion of the three experts who took part in the first Thought-Leader webinar presented by the University of the Free State (UFS) on Thursday, 13 August. The 2020 UFS Thought-Leader Webinar Series, themed 'Post-COVID-19, Post-Crisis', is taking place in collaboration with Vrye Weekblad as part of the Vrystaat Literature Festival’s online initiative, VrySpraak-digitaal.

The panellists included top experts such as Prof Salim Abdool Karim, Director: Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and Chair: South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19; Prof Glenda Gray, President and CEO: South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC); and the UFS’ Prof Felicity Burt, NRF-DST South African Research Chair in Vector-borne and Zoonotic Pathogens Research.
Prof Karim said the downward decline is consistent and the number of patients presenting at hospitals is also declining.
 
Promising trend of decline
“What we are seeing is a promising trend, and it looks like we are on the decline. A question that I am often asked is: Is the worst over? The answer is not clear-cut. We are concerned about the risk of a second surge. If anything – what really concerns me at this stage is a second surge, as I think about how the pandemic may play out over the next few weeks,” said Prof Karim. 

He also referred to countries such as the US, Spain, New Zealand, Vietnam, and South Korea, which are now facing a second surge. 

“We need to be very careful; this is not the time for complacency. We need to maintain all our efforts. If we look at one of the key drivers, it is the need for our economy to restart. We need to get people back to work,” said Prof Karim. 
According to him, we have to look at COVID-19 not as a sprint, but as a marathon. “As we learn to co-exist with this virus, aim for containment; we need to plan for the long term. Even if we get a vaccine, it is unlikely that we will be able to vaccinate a substantial part of our population before the end of next year.” 

“We need to transition from being scared to a situation where we can control our risk. When we know that we can control the risk and then influence the risk, we influence the risk of everyone around us. Part of the new normal is the strategy of mitigation with prevention, plus preventing outbreaks.”

Schools and vaccine development
Prof Gray spoke about whether schools should be open and the role that children play in transmission, how to avoid the second wave, how to adjust our testing, and the exciting news around vaccine development. 

As a paediatrician and a parent, Prof Gray said she believes schools should open. “Children have a different immune response to COVID-19. They have different immune responses to Coronavirus and they probably have less viral-load copies which makes them have milder diseases. They are lucky to have been spared from symptomatic or severe disease,” said Prof Gray. 

According to her, schools need to be de-risked as much as possible, with children and teachers wearing masks, washing hands, making sure that there is good ventilation in the school and that windows are wide open. 

“We also need to know about the comorbidity and ages of teachers, so that we can keep the sick and older teachers out of direct contact. The younger teachers with no comorbidities should be teaching. 

“We also know from our experiences with health workers that transmissions happen in the tearoom where teachers take off their masks and talk. We need to minimise the transmissions in tearooms and protect teachers and parents who are older and have comorbidities.”  

Prof Gray said from data she has seen, schools play a very small role in the transmission of COVID-19; a lot more (transmissions) happen in the community, by commuting, and overcrowded taxis.

Prof Gray agreed with Prof Karim that we should be concerned about a second wave, and that we need to make sure community transmissions are minimised. 

Regarding a vaccine, Prof Gray said a global race is on to find a vaccine. “The more vaccines the better, we want more vaccines to work. The more vaccines, the more affordable they are, and the more doses are available.”

One health approach

During her presentation, Prof Burt said the current response to outbreaks is largely reactive rather than proactive, and “if we have more of a one-health approach, with forecasting, early detection, and a more rapid response, we could have an impact on public health in the future”. 


News Archive

Deputy Minister leads a space science outreach programme in Bloemfontein
2014-02-28

The Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Michael Masutha and Mandla Maseko– the first black South African expected to go into space in 2015 – will participate in a Space Science Outreach Programme at the University of the Free State on Saturday 1 March 2014.

The event, taking place at the Bloemfontein Campus, is part of an outreach programme to raise awareness about South Africa’s advances in space science and technology and its benefits to society.

Mr Maseko will share his exciting experiences in the Axe Apollo Space Academy competition, a challenging event that included skydiving, aptitude tests and building and launching a rocket with about 600 learners from the surrounding areas. The 25-year-old from Mabopane near Pretoria will become the first black astronaut when he goes into space on the Lynx Mark II Shuttle, next year.

The outreach event will include activities such as telescope making and rocket launching. Workshops demonstrating the benefits of space science in areas such as earth observations, scientific research and development and human capital development, will also be conducted.

Among others, the open day will feature exhibitions such as the project to build the world’s largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array and the recent launch into space of the country’s micro-satellite – ZACUBE1 built by post-graduate students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

Other exhibitors will include the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO), the Agricultural Research Council, Denel Dynamics, the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the South African Weather Services (SAWS).

Officials from the provincial Department of Basic Education are also expected to attend.

Journalists are invited to the outreach

Venue: Economics Building, University of the Free State
Date: Saturday 1 March 2014
Time: 08:00

For more information, contact Veronica Mohapeloa at +27(0)82 882 3818 or +27(0)12 843 6788 or email veronica.mohapeloa@dst.gov.za OR David Mandaha at +27(0)72 126 8910 or david.mandaha@dst.gov.za

 

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