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

Oxford professor unlocks secrets of DNA
2017-03-31

Description: Oxford professor unlocks secrets of DNA Tags: Oxford professor unlocks secrets of DNA

From left are: Dr Cristian Capelli, Associate Professor
of Human Evolution at Oxford University;
Dr Karen Ehlers, Senior Lecturer and Prof Paul Grobler,
both from the Department of Genetics at the UFS.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

Many people are interested to know more about their history and origins, and with the help of genetics, it is possible to provide more information about one’s roots.

During a lecture at the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State (UFS), Dr Cristian Capelli, Associate Professor of Human Evolution at Oxford University in the UK, addressed staff members and students on the history of our species.

Reconstructing the history of human population
With his research, titled: People on the move: population structure and gene-flow in Southern Africa, Dr Capelli looks at reconstructing the history of human populations, focusing mainly on how the different human populations are related, as well as how they exchange genes.

He said this research could be of great significance to the medical field too. “Knowing what the genetic make-up of individuals is, can give us some information about their susceptibility to diseases, or how they would react to a given medicine. Therefore, this knowledge can be used to inform health-related policies.”

Combining individual histories of multiple people
To understand this research more clearly, Dr Capelli explained it in terms of DNA and how every individual receives half of their DNA from their mother and half from their father just as their parents had received theirs from their parents. And so it goes from generation after generation. Each individual stores a part of their ancestors’ DNA which makes up the individual genetic history of each person.

“If we combine these individual histories by looking at the DNA of multiple people, we can identify the occurrences that are shared across individuals and therefore reconstruct the history of a population, and in the same way on a larger scale, the history of our own species, homo sapiens.

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