Latest on COVID-19 and other updates

22 April 2020 | Campus Announcement

Dear colleagues and students

This campus announcement aims to inform the University of Cape Town community about recent developments around the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other updates on campus.

1. Updates on UCT COVID-19 cases

For the second successive week, UCT has not received reports of any new positive COVID-19 cases. The confirmed number of positive cases at UCT remains seven – four staff members and three students – with one recovery.


2. Emergency COVID-19 fund set up

UCT has set up a COVID-19 emergency fund to assist in the fight against the virus and its impact on the UCT community. Members of the UCT community who are able to are urged to rally behind the fight against the pandemic by making contributions to the fund.

  • Read the full media release.

  • 3. Provision of data for students

    UCT is providing pre-paid data to all students who have valid South African cell numbers as part of extensive support measures put in place for online learning. Each student will receive 30-40GB depending on their network provider, valid for 30 days. Cellphone providers have agreed to the university’s request to zero-rate access to certain UCT websites.


    4. Online orientation gets underway

    This week students began online orientation week in order to prepare for the start of the second term on 28 April 2020. Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng called on parents, sponsors and guardians to offer support to students by creating space and time in the home as students embark on the online programme.


    5. Update for postgraduate students

    During the lockdown the UCT leadership has been working to ensure that there is continued support for the postgraduate community as they represent the future generation of researchers and experts at the university.

    Taught postgraduate degrees and diplomas are now either ready to go online or already active online, with course conveners exploring varied approaches to deliver these courses. For postgraduates involved in research degrees, they need to contact their supervisors and set up an arrangement for continued supervision if this is not already in place. Postgraduate students also need to ensure they have completed the online survey which the university is using to identify postgraduates to take part in the laptop loan scheme for South African students, as well as gauging the connectivity and ability of our postgraduates to do academic work in their home environments.


    6. Update on the new teaching framework and academic calendar

    The academic calendar has been rearranged to enable for the completion of the semester and academic year. Some of the support measures for students that have been prioritised include, but are not limited to, access to data, regular communication, ensuring access to learning material and introducing a new online learning environment.


    7. COVID-19 additional video messages

    The UCT Department of Medicine and Groote Schuur Hospital have produced additional educational video material for use on digital platforms and in multiple languages. The information contained in these videos is authenticated and endorsed by the team of experts based in the Department of Medicine.


    8. OIC Survivor Support Group

    The Office of Inclusivity and Change will host online survivor support groups for staff and students who have experienced sexual and domestic violence. The sessions will be held every Tuesday from 17:30-19:30 on the Microsoft Teams platform. The online support groups will be a semi-structed psycho-social educational group to assist survivors in coping with their trauma. For more information and to join the online sessions please email Survivor Support Case Officer & Counsellor, yumna.sedat@uct.ac.za.


    9. Online COVID-19 session for alumni

    The Development and Alumni Department hosted a live online discussion on COVID-19, addressed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, members of the UCT executive and some of the university’s academics doing various research work as part of the fight against the pandemic.

    The session for alumni was held on Tuesday, 14 April 2020.

    Updates were shared by the executive on UCT’s response to the pandemic, plans to complete the academic year, UCT’s approach to research, and on how support is being provided to international students. The academics briefed alumni on UCT’s role in helping to find a vaccine, the university’s clinical contributions, and social distancing practices for staff and students post the lockdown.


    10. NSFAS allowances during the COVID-19 lockdown

    The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has issued an update on student allowances during the COVID-19 lockdown. NSFAS has activated a business continuity plan to facilitate uninterrupted funding to students, resolution of student applications queries, processing of appeals and general assistance to institutions with NSFAS administration.

     

    Communication and Marketing Department


    Read previous communications:


    Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

    Please view the republishing articles page for more information.


    UCT’s response to COVID-19

    COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

    Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

    In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
    Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

     

    Campus communications

     
    2022

    Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
    VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
    Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
    UCT Council
    March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
    Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
    UCT Council
    COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
    Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

    UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

    On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

    With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

     

    “After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
    – Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

    With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


    Thank You UCT Community

    Frequently asked questions

     

    Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

    UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



    If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

    IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
     

     

    “As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
    – Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

    We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

     

    TOP