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Alumni COVID-19 June update

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Wits alumni and friends of the university made significant contributions during June. Here are some highlights.

COMMERCE, LAW AND MANAGEMENT

Bongani Bingwa chats to Wits University law professor Dr James Grant (LLB 1997, PhD 2012) about the constitutionality of lockdown rules. 

Denise Nicholson, (LLM 2012) Scholarly Communications Librarian at Wits, writes the 网易体育 Bill’s provisions for better access to information is needed during lockdown. 

William Gumede, (MA 2003) Associate Professor at School of Governance at Wits, writes that ideological responses and traditional economic theory won’t lift SA out of COVID-19 slump. 

  • Participated in webinar at University of Johannesburg, saying the lockdown has had detrimental social and economic impacts on the country and little has been done to mitigate these consequences. 
  • Argues that South Africa’s governance model is broken.
  • Participated in webinar “Fighting for Freedom: The Charter 65 Years On” organised by the Human Sciences Research Council. 
  • Writes that South African citizens have low levels of trust in leaders and the feeling is mutual.
  • Evaluates government’s COVID-19 response with other academics.  

Alex van den Heever, Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies, Adjunct Professor in the School of Governance, has key to developing the Progressive Health Forum (PHF) to ensure greater collaboration between public and private health practitioners. During the pandemic many in the private sector have experienced dire financial pressure and Professor van den Heever’s model seeks to address this. 

 

ENGINEERING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Barry Dwolatzky, Emeritus Professor at Wits and director of the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering,  and Mark Harris write that COVID-19 had become at catalyst for the fourth Industrial revolution: 

The pandemic has put a spanner in the works for the platinum recovery process developed by dynamic duo Collins Saguru (MSc Eng 2019) Muofhe Singo (BSc Eng 2014, MSc 2017).  

 

MEDICINE

Professor Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, a clinical epidemiologist and Associate Professor and Director of Research at Wits RHI, talks to the BBC radio about a trial about to start using chloroquine as a prophylaxis for healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19. 

Professor Glenda Gray (MBBCh 1986) President of the South African Medical Research Council, chats to Judge Dennis Davis. 

Dr Tashmia Ismail-Saville (BDS 1997), CEO of the Youth Employment Service (YES), chats about the company advancing youth empowerment and ways to address the COVID-19 crisis. 

Dr Gloria Maimela, Director of Health Programmes at Wits RHI, features in this radio clip on a study which reveals people with HIV are around two and half times more likely to die from coronavirus. 

SABC’s Luvuyo Mdeni debunks myths about COVID-19 with Professor Professor Shabir Madhi (MBBCh 1990, MMed 1999, PhD 2004) Professor of Vaccinology and Director of the MRC Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit. 

Stavros Nicolaou, (BPharm 1986, DSc Med 2019) senior executive at Aspen, discusses Dexamethasone as one more possible line of defence against COVID-19 for patients in high-care conditions. Listen to his radio interview about it. 

Professor Helen Rees, Executive Director at Wits RHI, participated in the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine. She said it is essential that vaccine studies are performed in southern hemisphere countries. 

Professor Guy Richards, Emeritus Professor of critical care at Wits, is part of group of specialists who have formed the Gauteng ICU Corona Group, speaks about using Dexamethasone. 

Professor Haroon Saloojee of the Community Paediatrics at Wits, says schools are best place for kids even during the pandemic. 

Professor Martin Veller, Dean of Health Sciences Faculty, participated in this radio interview, saying that the vaccine trial is a great source of hope.

Professor Francois Venter, Director of Ezintsha and Deputy Executive Director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, co-writes with Marc Mendelson, Shabir Madhi, Jeremy Nel say stop random COVID-19 testing. He discussed it further in radio interview with John Perlman.  

 

HUMANITIES

Professor Lawrence Hamilton, an A-rated political scientist at Wits, writes COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the quality of leadership around the globe. 

Ferial Haffajee (BA 1989) associate editor at Daily Maverick, wonders about the health of SA’s lung and would it cope with the added COVID-19 burden. 

  • Writes how Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma increased the value of illicit cigarettes during lockdown.
  • Participated in Daily Maverick Webinar with Professor Glenda Gray, Mark Heywood. 
  • Writes what to expect when going back to the gym. 
  • Participated in webinar and assessed 100-day mark of COVID-19 pandemic. 

Fred Khumalo (MA 2015) will remember his first day out of lockdown as celebration tinged with mourning. 

Aspasia Karras (BA 1994, PDM 1995, MM 1999) chats to Dutch futurist Lidewij Edelkoort who believes there are many positives for the world once the pandemic passes. 

Mamokgethi Phakeng (BEd 1993, MEd 1996, PhD 2002) co-authors an article on the need for Africa to collaborate with the world on vaccine trials. 

Author and commentator Jonny Steinberg (BA 1992, BA Hon 1993, MA 1995) writes the restrictive bans during lockdown is rooted in a desire by leaders to save people from the ravages of history. 

  • Wonders how SA will respond to the degree of poverty which its apartheid geography will not be able to conceal post pandemic.
  • With so little knowledge of the approaching pandemic South Africa bought into what the leaders told us. 

 

SCIENCE

Professor Andrea Fuller (BSc 1994, BSc Hons 1995, PhD 2000) from the School of Physiology; Director, Brain Function Research Group and Professor Duncan Mitchell (BSc Hons MSc 1964, PhD 1972, Doctor of Science honoris causa 2012), Honorary Professorial Research Fellow, write that temperature checks offer a false sense of security. 

Professor Bruce Mellado, from the department of Physics and iThemba LABS, participated in IEEE TechEthics panel to discuss data science during the pandemic. 

Participating in IBM Research Africa has developed machine learning-powered technology to help the Gauteng provincial government monitor, track and predict coronavirus infections. 

Mohammed Mojam, (BSc 2005, MBA 2016) head of medical technologies at Ezintsha, discusses the trial to assess a rapid breath test for COVID-19 to deliver results on-site in less than five minutes. 

 

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