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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

Getting out of the dark
2015-06-10

 

ESKOM is making daily announcements on the status of the power grid.

Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer at University Estates, is in continuous contact with Eskom and Centlec in an effort to stay abreast of load shedding.

According to Anton, Eskom has recently - the week of 20 April - been focusing on the evening peak, and has announced STAGE 1 load shedding from 17:00-22:00; thus, the Bloemfontein Campus should be able to continue business as usual during the day, except for Thursdays from 18:00 and, possibly, Fridays from 17:00.

Where can I get more information about load shedding stages?

Apart from Eskom’s webpage, staff can also visit GRID WATCH. Click on "Search", then under "Schedules". Look for "Mangaung Local Municipality", and select "GROUP 4". Save this location. “This can even be loaded onto your mobile device.”

“The time slots can be seen for a couple of days in advance, to allow us to plan around the possibility of load shedding in our daily lives,” said Anton.

Please note: ESKOM can change the STAGE level at any time. Therefore, keep an eye on GRID WATCH and News24.

View the typical seven-day planner for the Bloemfontein Campus (Group 4), which indicates the STAGE 2 and 3 possibilities. Take note that, on some days, the STAGE 2 and 3 time slots are the same.

More load shedding tips: Your IT needs

The UFS Data Centre (Computer Room) is fully serviced by a generator facility, and can function without external power supply for a few days.

The generator servicing the UFS data centre does NOT provide power to the outlying facilities. This implies that all digital equipment at gates, booms, and access points will be shut down until the power is restored to these facilities. “We are now, in collaboration with Nico Janse van Rensburg, in a process to install UPS facilities at these points, which will ensure two to three hours of power supply at these points, even during load shedding,” said Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: ICT Services.

No Wi-Fi will be available, as it is dependent on the power supply to the buildings where it is installed.

All servers are contained in the data centre, and will be kept running by our generators.

How to manage load shedding and your IT needs:

1. Get into the habit of saving your work regularly on computer so that you don’t lose your work/files during load shedding.
2. Back up important data. Keep to a schedule of regular back-up.  Make sure your computer back-ups are safe and recoverable.
3. Keep all electronic devices charged and ready to run on battery power. Keep your cellphone charged: some old-style Telkom landlines will still operate during power outages, but others won't.
4. Remember, when power supply is restored, it sometimes happens that a power surge is sent through the network, which will damage your computer.  Fortunately, laptop computers will not suffer this fate as their power is provided through an external power pack. Often, this power pack will be damaged, but not the laptop itself.
5. It makes good sense to reboot your computer daily, not only in terms of power shedding, but also in terms of updating the drivers, software, etc.
6. Switch off all computers and other electrical equipment at the wall plug overnight and on weekends.
7. Should your IT equipment not switch on after a power outage, log a call with the ICT Services. You can also call them at x2000.

More information, guidelines and contact numbers

 

 

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