COVID-19 fund R20m target and other updates

24 June 2020 | Campus Announcement

Dear colleagues

This campus announcement aims to inform the UCT community about recent developments on campus.

1. UCT targets R20m through COVID-19 fund

UCT set up a COVID-19 Emergency Fund in April 2020 to assist in the fight against the virus and its impact on the university community. The goal is to raise R20 million towards addressing urgent priorities related to staff and students during and after the lockdown.

The university is extremely grateful to donors who have already contributed more than R8.2 million towards the fund. These donations came from – among others – corporates, foundations, alumni and staff. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, demonstrated her personal support by donating 20% of her salary to the fund for a three-month period. Other members of the UCT executive and several members of staff are also supporting the fund.

A donation of any amount will go a long way towards helping students complete the academic year and towards support measures for staff in this period. Donations can be made into a dedicated account or online.


2. Helping to unleash the new global university

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted higher education international activities and the financial models on which universities increasingly depend. But the previous model was already problematic, contributing to global warming and benefitting rich universities more than the poorer ones. UCT will on Monday, 29 June, host the first of a series of virtual events: Unleashing the New Global University. These virtual events will seize the moment to rethink global collaborations for a sustainable and equitable planet.


3. UCT Transformation Report for 2019

The 2019 Transformation Report was released this week. While it continues to demonstrate the university’s efforts in building a more inclusive and diverse institution, it also highlights for the first time how transformation benchmarks have been employed. These markers allow for the systematic tracking of progress in relation to transformation. It is hoped that the report can be adopted and used as a guiding framework to support transformation work in 2020 and beyond.

To mark the release of the report, a public panel discussion with some of the contributors to the report will be hosted on 3 July 2020.


4. Development Dialogue approach under COVID-19

The Human Resources Department has prepared a document to guide and support the implementation of the Development Dialogue (DD) process for PASS staff. The overarching direction is that all PASS staff should have an opportunity to complete the DD process of reviewing performance for the 2019-2020 cycle, and to contract objectives for the next performance cycle which runs from 2020 to 2021. Furthermore, the process of implementing and conducting DD’s to give due regard to the key principles as articulated in this document. These principles are underpinned by consistent and fair treatment of employees and fair implementation of the process.


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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.

 

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