Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
13 October 2020 | Story Lacea Loader
The Free State is currently one of the provinces in the country with the highest percentage of new tests that turn out positive for COVID-19. This also impacts on the staff and students at the University of the Free State (UFS), as the number of positive cases on the campuses has increased considerably during the past few weeks.  

The UFS experienced an increase of 47% in the number of students who tested positive from Level 2 of the national lockdown to Level 1. During the past few days, an increase of 21% in positive student cases has been experienced. In the case of staff, an increase of 34% in the number who tested positive occurred from Level 2 of the national lockdown to Level 1. Over  the past few days, an increase of 11% in positive cases has been experienced.

1. Adherence to national protocols and regulations

The safety, health, and well-being of staff and students remain a priority. Therefore, the university management is concerned about the rise in positive cases on the campuses and appeals to staff to adhere to the national protocols and regulations issued by the Ministers of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Employment and Labour, Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and Health.   

It is important to note that non-adherence to certain of the national protocols and regulations is a criminal offence and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to six months. By not adhering to national protocols and regulations, our staff is not only putting their own health at risk, but also the health of others.

2. Behaviour observed on campus  

The following behaviour has been observed among staff working on campus:
- Not adhering to social/physical distancing of 2 metres;
- Face-to-face contact without wearing masks (e.g. in boardrooms and tearooms, visiting each other in offices, etc);
- Not wearing a mask while moving on campus, as well as in buildings (except in the privacy of offices);
- Dishonesty during the screening process; and
- Non-compliance with isolation and quarantine guidelines.
Staff members are reminded that they may face disciplinary action if they do not adhere to the national COVID-19 protocols and regulations as issued by the different ministers. It is important that staff members be honest at all times during the screening process, as it has been observed that some staff members display some COVID-19-related symptoms but answer in the negative on the online screening app.

3. Reporting of positive COVID-19 cases
In terms of the directives issued by the Minister of Employment and Labour, the Minister of Health, and the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the UFS is required to report all COVID-19 positive cases to the Department of Labour, the Department of Health, and the Department of Higher Education and Training.  All COVID-19 positive cases must thus be reported directly to the Senior Director: Human Resources (vjaarsj@ufs.ac.za) and Kovsie Health (johnr@ufs.ac.za) for further handling and reporting to the relevant government departments.

Please do not come to the campuses if you are experiencing any COVID-19-related symptoms and get tested as soon as possible.

Those staff members who test positive will receive the necessary advice from their medical practitioners and they can also contact Kovsie Health for assistance.


News Archive

“I, too, am an African,” says visiting US drama professor
2013-03-06

 
Africans are of blood and of soil, says Prof Charles Dumas in his inaugural lecture at the UFS. Speaking on the topic I, too, am an African, Prof Dumas reminisced about his life and experiences on the continent.
Photo: Minette Grove
05 March 2013

Lecture (pdf)

What is an African? Is it those born in Africa, defined in racial and genealogical terms, or those who identifies with the continent in nationality and ancestral location? Did the descendants of enslaved Africans in the US, the Caribbean or Brazil lose their Africaness when their ancestors were put on slave ships to the New World?

These were some of the questions raised by Prof Charles Dumas, visiting senior professor in the Department Drama and Theatre Arts, in his inaugural lecture at the university.

Proclaiming attachment to the continent, Prof Dumas told his audience there are two types of Africans: Africans of the blood and Africans of the soil. In a speech titled, “I, too, am an African,” he stated that he lay claim to his ancestral birthright not because of blood relationship to an identifiable ethnic group or birthright to the continent, but because he earned it.

“I suggest another way that one can be an African, is through trial and struggle to be reborn an African in spirit. It is a ritual journey that may be taken by anyone. For, after all, if we are to believe the anthropologists who tell us that human life as we know it began in the Olduvai Gorge, genetically we are all African in origin.”

Prof Dumas, a senior professor at Penn State University in the USA, took the audience on a journey of his experiences on the continent, starting in 1978 when he first came to South Africa as a legal observer. Noticing the changes between Apartheid and today’s South Africa, he said this generation are committed to learn from each other – and that is the most important, he said.

“With their hopes and aspirations they earnestly desire to live in the new South Africa that we promised them. We must support them in their effort. It is time we stored our old baggage in the closet.”

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept