UKZN launches ‘War Room’ to fight deadly Coronavirus
The university is in the process of creating a hotline which will aid in communicating with its stakeholders about the virus.
THE University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is set to launch a groundbreaking Campus Health ‘War Room’ in a bid to lend a hand to the international efforts of fighting the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
They have created an email address: covid19@ukzn.ac.za and the hashtag: #ukzncovid19 that staff and students can use when making an enquiry.
The university is in the process of creating a hotline which will aid in communicating with its stakeholders about the virus.
“The rampant COVID-19 pandemic has already spread to six continents and there are no signs that it is being brought under control,” said Professor Nana Poku, UKZN Vice-Chancellor and Principal.
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“Given the high concentration of people on our campuses (students and staff), prevention and protection against the spread of disease is critical,” he added.
The project will be led by public health experts as well as a virology expert who will be joined by co-opt experts and volunteers from various colleges, schools, disciplines, travel, and other university structures and student communities to assist in awareness and provide expert advice.
“The objective is the immediate launch of a multi-disciplinary Campus Health ‘War Room’, which will be the first of its kind in Africa. The ‘War Room’ will provide the necessary evidence and guidance to effectively respond to COVID-19, and this may include a policy of quarantine, including self-quarantine, in all possible cases of exposure for the duration of the incubation period, and based on any requirements by the health authorities such as the Department of Health, National Institute for Control of Disease (NICD), and the World Health Organisation (WHO),” added Poku.
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Poku said while no cases of the disease have been detected in South Africa, the World Health Organisation expects most, if not all countries, to detect cases.
“We know cases have already been detected in Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and now Morocco, and that two South Africans have been diagnosed in Japan, and more than 150 South Africans in Wuhan will be brought back into the country,” said Poku.
The plan is to build capacity to keep track of all known cases globally, regionally, nationally, provincially and locally. Going forward, the team will keep a close watch on COVID-19 in South Africa, having access to dashboards and databases that will allow them to know how the spread of COVID-19 is unfolding should it approach South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal, and such information will be shared with all stakeholders.
The roll-out will also include tracking the movements of all staff. Working with the internal travel agency, staff members are also encouraged to limit non-essential travel to high risk zones.
Staff and students can send enquiries to covid19@ukzn.ac.za which is up and running and the general public toll-free number 0800 029 999 pending the creation of its own (hotline).
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