Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: Backing for govt on pandemic response – but others are suing

Posted on 19/05/2020 by Boris Clair

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SA

Cases update:

The latest number of confirmed cases is 16 433.

According to the latest update, 286 deaths have been recorded in the country.

There have been 7 298 recoveries

So far, more than 475 000 tests have been conducted, with just short of 14 200 new tests.

Latest news:

Despite the fast-moving and uncertain context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the strong, science-based governmental leadership has saved many lives in South Africa, according to the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).

ASSAf, which is the only statutory academy in the country established to provide the government and the general public with evidence-based advice on issues of pressing national concern, released a statement on Monday to state its position on Covid-19 and the country’s response to it.

The academy said the government’s response had been effective and it had been rightly acknowledged, both nationally and internationally. “At the moment, the rate of growth of infections and death rates in South Africa is among the lowest in the world and also among BRICS countries.

“ASSAf recognises and applauds the South African government for underlining the fact that the national strategy has been based on scientific evidence and guided by the advice of scientists,” the organisation said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday said every South African had the right to approach the courts and that even he, as president, could never stand in the way of anybody exercising that right.

This comes after a number of cases have been brought to court challenging aspects of the coronavirus lockdown regulations, such as the sale of cigarettes, the military-enforced night curfew, the ban on e-commerce and the restriction on exercise hours.

In his weekly newsletter on Monday, the president said: “While we would prefer to avoid the need for any legal action against government, we should accept that citizens who are unhappy with whatever action that government has decided on implementing have a right to approach our courts for any form of relief they seek.

“This is a normal tenet of a constitutional democracy and a perfectly acceptable practice in a country founded on the rule of law.”

The City of Cape Town says it has developed a dynamic economic and social recovery plan post Covid-19 lockdown. In a statement on Monday, Mayor Dan Plato said the metro continued to adjust its economic impact modelling and scenarios, and working closely with small and big business to minimise the loss of employment.

“We will continue to prioritise the safety of our residents, while responsibly calling for the opening up of our economy because we simply cannot allow our economy to be stalled any longer.

“All of this forms part of the Dynamic Operating Framework that was rapidly developed and adopted during the early days of the lockdown, and continues to be tweaked as new data becomes available,” Plato said.

The City also assured residents it was doing all it could to ensure that service delivery was taking place.

It was sealed with a kiss from his wife – the story of a Covid-19 survivor, who walked out of hospital a healthy man.

Bathandwa Zuzo was hit hard by Covid-19, but has lived to tell the tale. On Monday, he walked out of Melomed private hospital in Gatesville, Cape Town.

“The nurses, the doctors, who were supporting me – I am here because of them. I am alive because of them,” said a grateful Zuzo, 48.

It was on April 26, one month into the lockdown, that he fell ill. He tested positive for the coronavirus and was admitted to hospital.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

Cases update:

For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

Late on Monday night, positive cases worldwide were close to 4.77 million, while deaths were almost 317 000.

The United States had the most cases in the world – more than 1.5 million, as well as the most deaths – close to 90 000.

Latest news:

A new video shows just how easy it is to spread germs using nothing but fluorescent paint and a buffet spread.

In the video, produced by a team at St.Marianna University School of Medicine in Kawasaki, Japan, and the broadcasting company NHK, 10 people were told they were going to enjoy a lunch buffet, with a catch.

One person rubbed fluorescent paint into their hands, to mimic germs one might get from coughing on their hand, Metro UK reported.

The group then went about the buffet as they normally would.

But at the end of the meal, the overhead lights were turned off, and a UV light was flipped on.

Immediately, they could see paint glowing all over the room – on the person who’d been given the paint, and their silverware, but also on other participants’ hands, faces, plates, and cutlery.

LATEST RESEARCH

From the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, health authorities have listed people older than 60 and those with chronic disease in the high-risk category for coronavirus.

Now, investigators reported that a group of tiny RNA that would usually attack SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, as soon as it tries to infect the body, diminish with age and chronic health problems.

MicroRNAs are a class of non-coding DNA that play a role in gene expression in our bodies. Gene expression is a tightly regulated function in the body where a cell is allowed to respond to its changing environment.

A simple example of this in the human body is when microRNAs control insulin expression and release a signal that blood glucose needs to be regulated.

When we refer to “measuring” your gene expression, it’s the ability to see at what level a particular gene will be expressed, for example, how likely you are to develop a certain type of cancer.

With ageing, and in the case of chronic disease, the levels of microRNAs that are responsible for so many regulations in your body are starting to dwindle, which also affects your ability to fight off various infections from bacteria and viruses, according to Dr Carlos M. Isales, co-director of the MCG Center for Healthy Aging and chief of the MCG Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

As of 15 May, South Africa has a total of 12 739 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 238 confirmed deaths. The SA Coronavirus website’s latest media release indicates that by 14 May, more than 403 000 tests had been conducted in the country. News24 also recently reported that the Solidarity Fund approved funding for 400 000 Covid-19 test kits costing R250 million to support increased testing for the deadly virus across the country.

However, a guidance document – published on 13 May by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa’s (CMSA) Covid-19 Evidence-based Guidance Task Team and CMSA’s CEO, Professor Eric Buch – advises limiting testing in the country for two reasons:

– Reducing unnecessary testing means that we can preserve test kits for those environments where it is needed most.

– Limiting testing means reducing the burden on laboratories, which will ultimately ensure more rapid turn-around times. According to the document, which references an article by Spotlight, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) aims to conduct 15 000 tests daily.

However, it has been difficult to achieve this due to logistical issues, as well as a lack of test reagent and viral extraction kits. In recent weeks, however, testing has been ramped up – and more than 21 000 new tests were reported to have been conducted on Sunday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies testing and tracing people infected Covid-19 a vital measure in order to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

However, delays in receiving test results, the authors of the CMSA document mention, greatly hampers the ability to follow this recommendation. Currently, the average turn-around time for laboratory sample results can range from two to seven days. Earlier this month, Bhekisisa reported that a national backlog has meant that some patients may wait up to ten days.

Panic ensued earlier during the coronavirus pandemic when cases of dogs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Hong Kong.

Animal shelters and rescue organisations worldwide had to plead that owners don’t abandon their dogs, as dogs cannot spread the virus to humans.

Now, researchers who studied the genomic link suspect that the infection was passed from owner to dog, according to Malik Peiris, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, and main author of the study published in the journal Nature.

There was no evidence that dogs could pass the infection to other dogs or people, but Peiris stated that they needed to consider every possibility.

According to Arjan Stegeman, a veterinary epidemiologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, it’s unlikely that people with Covid-19 will infect their dogs, even though the studies show it might be possible.

Other scientists, however, did report to Nature that pets might be able to spread the virus among each other, and that this risk needed to be researched for management in future outbreaks.

Spraying disinfectant on the streets, as practised in some countries, does not eliminate the new coronavirus and even poses a health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.

In a document on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces as part of the response to the virus, the WHO says spraying can be ineffective.

“Spraying or fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets or marketplaces, is… not recommended to kill the Covid-19 virus or other pathogens because disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris,” explains the WHO.

“Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens.”

The WHO said that streets and pavements are not considered as “reservoirs of infection” of Covid-19, adding that spraying disinfectants, even outside, can be “dangerous for human health”.

The document also stresses that spraying individuals with disinfectants is “not recommended under any circumstances”.

HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)

• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing

• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus

• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.

READ MORE: Coronavirus 101

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

Coronavirus: Delirium ‘may be common’ in Covid seriously ill

Posted on 19/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Long stays in intensive care and being ventilated could increase the risk, researchers say.

Unknown submarine landslides discovered in Gulf of Mexico

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

A Florida State University researcher has used new detection methods to identify 85 previously unknown submarine landslides that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico between 2008 and 2015, leading to questions about the stability of oil rigs and other structures, such as pipelines built in the region.

Assistant Professor Wenyuan Fan in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science has published a new paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters that identifies these landslides and the risks they pose to coastal communities.

“The observed landslides suggest a possible tsunami hazard for coastal communities along the Gulf of Mexico and that seabed infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, including oil platforms and pipelines, is also at risk from the landslides,” Fan said.

Fan and his colleagues measured data from seismic stations across the United States. They found that out of the 85 landslides they identified, 10 occurred spontaneously without preceding earthquakes. The other 75 occurred almost instantly after the passage of surface waves caused by distant earthquakes. Some of these were considered rather small earthquakes, Fan added.

The finding was a surprise for Fan and his colleagues, he noted. In trying to better understand lesser-known earthquake processes, he had designed a method to capture earthquake data that would help him get a better look at continuous waveforms. That led him to seismic sources in the Gulf of Mexico.

“There are few active faults in the Gulf, and the seismicity is scarce in the region,” he said. “This puzzled me and concerned me because we live close to the Gulf. With the question and the concern, I looked into the details of these seismic sources and eventually concluded that they are likely to be submarine landslides.”

Fan said currently he and his colleagues do not have any real-time data related to damage from these events and that most of the landslides were in the deep-water region of the Gulf. The ability to detect and locate these submarine landslides suggests that scientists may be able to adapt researchers’ methods for hazard monitoring in the future though.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Florida State University. Original written by Kathleen Haughney. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Quantum Hall effect ‘reincarnated’ in 3D topological materials

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

U.S. and German physicists have found surprising evidence that one of the most famous phenomena in modern physics — the quantum Hall effect — is “reincarnated” in topological superconductors that could be used to build fault-tolerant quantum computers.

The 1980 discovery of the quantum Hall effect kicked off the study of topological orders, electronic states with “protected” patterns of long-range quantum entanglement that are remarkably robust. The stability of these protected states is extremely attractive for quantum computing, which uses quantum entanglement to store and process information.

In a study published online this month in Physical Review X (PRX), theoretical physicists from Rice University, the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Karlsruhe, Germany, presented strong numerical evidence for a surprising link between 2D and 3D phases of topological matter. The quantum Hall effect was discovered in 2D materials, and laboratories worldwide are in a race to make 3D topological superconductors for quantum computing.

“In this work we’ve shown that a particular class of 3D topological superconductors should exhibit ‘energy stacks’ of 2D electronic states at their surfaces,” said Rice co-author Matthew Foster, an associate professor of physics and astronomy and member of the Rice Center for Quantum Materials (RCQM). “Each of these stacked states is a robust ‘reincarnation’ of a single, very special state that occurs in the 2D quantum Hall effect.”

The quantum Hall effect was first measured in two-dimensional materials. Foster uses a “percolation” analogy to help visualize the strange similarities between what occurs in 2D quantum Hall experiments and the study’s 3D computational models.

“Picture a sheet of paper with a map of rugged peaks and valleys, and then imagine what happens as you fill that landscape with water,” he said. “The water is our electrons, and when the level of fluid is low, you just have isolated lakes of electrons. The lakes are disconnected from one another, and the electrons can’t conduct across the bulk. If water level is high, you have isolated islands, and in this case the islands are like the electrons, and you also don’t get bulk conduction.”

In Foster’s analogy the rugged landscape is the electric potential of the 2D material, and the level of ruggedness corresponds to amount of impurities in the system. The water level represents the “Fermi energy,” a concept in physics that refers to the filling level of electrons in a system. The edges of the paper map are analogous to the 1D edges that surround the 2D material.

“If you add water and tune the fluid level precisely to the point where you have little bridges of water connecting the lakes and little bridges of land connecting the islands, then it’s as easy to travel by water or land,” Foster said. “That is the percolation threshold, which corresponds to the transition between topological states in quantum Hall. This is the special 2D state in quantum Hall.

“If you increase the fluid level more, now the electrons are trapped in isolated islands, and you’d think, ‘Well, I have the same situation I had before, with no conduction.’ But, at the special transition, one of the electronic states has peeled away to the edge. Adding more fluid doesn’t remove the edge state, which can go around the whole sample, and nothing can stop it.”

The analogy describes the relationship between robust edge conduction and bulk fine-tuning through the special transition in the quantum Hall effect. In the PRX study, Foster and co-authors Bjo?rn Sbierski of UC Berkeley and Jonas Karcher of KIT studied 3D topological systems that are similar to the 2D landscapes in the analogy.

“The interesting stuff in these 3D systems is also only happening at the boundary,” Foster said. “But now our boundaries aren’t 1D edge states, they are 2D surfaces.”

Using “brute-force numerical calculations of the surface states,” Sbierski, Karcher and Foster found a link between the critical 2D quantum Hall state and the 3D systems. Like the 1D edge state that persists above the transition energy in 2D quantum Hall materials, the calculations revealed a persistent 2D boundary state in the 3D systems. And not just any 2D state; it is exactly the same 2D percolation state that gives rise to 1D quantum Hall edge states.

“What was a fine-tuned topological quantum phase transition in 2D has been ‘reincarnated’ as the generic surface state for a higher dimensional bulk,” Foster said. “In 2018 study, my group identified an analogous connection between a different, more exotic type of 2D quantum Hall effect and the surface states of another class of 3D topological superconductors. With this new evidence, we are now confident there is a deep topological reason for these connections, but at the moment the mathematics remain obscure.”

Topological superconductors have yet to be realized experimentally, but physicists are trying to create them by adding impurities to topological insulators. This process, known as doping, has been widely used to make other types of unconventional superconductors from bulk insulators.

“We now have evidence that three of the five 3D topological phases are tied to 2D phases that are versions of the quantum Hall effect, and all three 3D phases could be realized in ‘topological superconductors,'” Foster said.

Foster said conventional wisdom in condensed matter physics has been that topological superconductors would each host only one protected 2D surface state and all other states would be adversely affected by unavoidable imperfections in the solid-state materials used to make the superconductors.

But Sbierski, Karcher and Foster’s calculations suggest that isn’t the case.

“In quantum Hall, you can tune anywhere and still get this robust plateau in conductance, due to the 1D edge states,” Foster said. “Our work suggests that is also the case in 3D. We see stacks of critical states at different energy levels, and all of them are protected by this strange reincarnation of the 2D quantum Hall transition state.”

The authors also set the stage for experimental work to verify their findings, working out details of how the surface states of the 3D phases should appear in various experimental probes.

“We provide precise statistical ‘fingerprints’ for the surface states of the topological phases,” Foster said. “The actual wave functions are random, due to disorder, but their distributions are universal and match the quantum Hall transition.”

The research was supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant (1552327), the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (LPDS 2018-12), a KIT research travel grant, German state graduate funding and the UC Berkeley Library’s Berkeley Research Impact Initiative.

New study estimates the odds of life and intelligence emerging beyond our planet

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Humans have been wondering whether we alone in the universe since antiquity.

We know from the geological record that life started relatively quickly, as soon our planet’s environment was stable enough to support it. We also know that the first multicellular organism, which eventually produced today’s technological civilization, took far longer to evolve, approximately 4 billion years.

But despite knowing when life first appeared on Earth, scientists still do not understand how life occurred, which has important implications for the likelihood of finding life elsewhere in the universe.

In a new paper published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences today, David Kipping, an assistant professor in Columbia’s Department of Astronomy, shows how an analysis using a statistical technique called Bayesian inference could shed light on how complex extraterrestrial life might evolve in alien worlds.

“The rapid emergence of life and the late evolution of humanity, in the context of the timeline of evolution, are certainly suggestive,” Kipping said. “But in this study it’s possible to actually quantify what the facts tell us.”

To conduct his analysis, Kipping used the chronology of the earliest evidence for life and the evolution of humanity. He asked how often we would expect life and intelligence to re-emerge if Earth’s history were to repeat, re-running the clock over and over again.

He framed the problem in terms of four possible answers: Life is common and often develops intelligence, life is rare but often develops intelligence, life is common and rarely develops intelligence and, finally, life is rare and rarely develops intelligence.

This method of Bayesian statistical inference — used to update the probability for a hypothesis as evidence or information becomes available — states prior beliefs about the system being modeled, which are then combined with data to cast probabilities of outcomes.

“The technique is akin to betting odds,” Kipping said. “It encourages the repeated testing of new evidence against your position, in essence a positive feedback loop of refining your estimates of likelihood of an event.”

From these four hypotheses, Kipping used Bayesian mathematical formulas to weigh the models against one another. “In Bayesian inference, prior probability distributions always need to be selected,” Kipping said. “But a key result here is that when one compares the rare-life versus common-life scenarios, the common-life scenario is always at least nine times more likely than the rare one.”

The analysis is based on evidence that life emerged within 300 million years of the formation of the Earth’s oceans as found in carbon-13-depleted zircon deposits, a very fast start in the context of Earth’s lifetime. Kipping emphasizes that the ratio is at least 9:1 or higher, depending on the true value of how often intelligence develops.

Kipping’s conclusion is that if planets with similar conditions and evolutionary time lines to Earth are common, then the analysis suggests that life should have little problem spontaneously emerging on other planets. And what are the odds that these extraterrestrial lives could be complex, differentiated and intelligent? Here, Kipping’s inquiry is less assured, finding just 3:2 odds in favor of intelligent life.

This result stems from humanity’s relatively late appearance in Earth’s habitable window, suggesting that its development was neither an easy nor ensured process. “If we played Earth’s history again, the emergence of intelligence is actually somewhat unlikely,” he said.

Kipping points out that the odds in the study aren’t overwhelming, being quite close to 50:50, and the findings should be treated as no more than a gentle nudge toward a hypothesis.

“The analysis can’t provide certainties or guarantees, only statistical probabilities based on what happened here on Earth,” Kipping said. “Yet encouragingly, the case for a universe teeming with life emerges as the favored bet. The search for intelligent life in worlds beyond Earth should be by no means discouraged.”

Story Source:

Materials provided by Columbia University. Original written by Carla Cantor. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Coronavirus symptoms: UK adds loss of smell and taste to list

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Loss of smell and taste join a new cough and fever as signs that self-isolation may be necessary, experts say.

Health24.com | Spraying disinfectants can be ‘harmful’, says WHO

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Spraying disinfectant on the streets, as practised in some countries, does not eliminate the new coronavirus and even poses a health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.

In a document on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces as part of the response to the virus, the WHO says spraying can be ineffective.

“Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens.”

Physically and psychologically harmful

The WHO said that streets and pavements are not considered as “reservoirs of infection” of Covid-19, adding that spraying disinfectants, even outside, can be “dangerous for human health”.

The document also stresses that spraying individuals with disinfectants is “not recommended under any circumstances”.

“This could be physically and psychologically harmful and would not reduce an infected person’s ability to spread the virus through droplets or contact,” said the document.

Spraying chlorine or other toxic chemicals on people can cause eye and skin irritation, bronchospasm and gastrointestinal effects, it adds.

The organisation is also warning against the systematic spraying and fumigating of disinfectants on to surfaces in indoor spaces, citing a study that has shown it to be ineffective outside direct spraying areas.

Recorded under laboratory conditions

“If disinfectants are to be applied, this should be done with a cloth or wipe that has been soaked in disinfectant,” it says.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of the pandemic that has killed more than 300 000 people worldwide since its appearance in late December in China, can attach itself to surfaces and objects.

However, no precise information is currently available for the period during which the viruses remain infectious on the various surfaces.

Studies have shown that the virus can stay on several types of surfaces for several days. However, these maximum durations are only theoretical because they are recorded under laboratory conditions and should be “interpreted with caution” in the real-world environment.

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Coronavirus: Global push for inquiry into Covid-19 response

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Health leaders are set to meet amid scrutiny of the WHO’s handling of the crisis and US-China tensions.

Health24.com | Dogs may catch coronavirus from owners, but won’t infect humans

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Panic ensued earlier during the coronavirus pandemic when cases of dogs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Hong Kong.

Animal shelters and rescue organisations worldwide had to plead that owners don’t abandon their dogs, as dogs cannot spread the virus to humans.

There was no evidence that dogs could pass the infection to other dogs or people, but Peiris stated that they needed to consider every possibility.

Other scientists, however, did report to Nature that pets might be able to spread the virus among each other, and that this risk needed to be researched for management in future outbreaks.

Should owners diagnosed with Covid-19 worry about their pets?

While more research is needed to ascertain the extent of owners infecting their pets, the American Veterinary Medical Association urges people to take some precautions. They advise patients with Covid-19 who are recovering at home to wear a mask when caring for their pets and should avoid petting, hugging or kissing their animals while sick. They should also wash their hands before and after contact with their pets.

Animals and Covid-19

According to Jürgen Richt, a veterinary virologist at Kansas State University in Manhattan, research is not only imperative to protect animals from getting sick, but to see exactly how animals such as working animals and livestock can potentially spread the virus in a community.

Rich also stated that more research is needed to see if pets experience any symptoms.

He is particularly worried that this may lead to more owners abandoning their animals in fear.

For now, it’s best to be informed, to understand that the probability of your dog or cat catching the virus is low, and simply to be aware of your animals’ health, and to contact your vet if are any changes in their health.

^{Image credit: iStock}

Compiled by Marelize Wilke

Health24.com | OPINION | Enhancing the healthcare value chain during COVID-19

Posted on 18/05/2020 by Boris Clair

A shock to the system

Whether we should have been or not is up for debate, but when Covid-19 began its rapid spread across the globe we were shocked. Taken by surprise, we found we didn’t have nearly enough of what we needed to defend ourselves against the scale of this silent killer: resources, masks, ventilators, hospital beds, time. And so governments and health professionals around the world began the grim, morally fraught, emotionally wearying business of health risk triage: allocating resources, attention, time, equipment in a way that would do the most good, or the least harm.

As we enter into the second phase of our response to the pandemic, in which we reckon with the persistence of the infections, the lack of vaccines, and the ongoing behavioural responses that we’re going to need to make, we’re involved in triage on a different scale, judging prevention of the spread of the disease against its ongoing, devastating economic and social impact.

It is important, as we make these decisions, to be aware of their long-term impact, to make sure our decisions and motivations in healthcare are data- and evidence-based, and to consider both the demand and supply sides of the healthcare value chain. Value in healthcare is defined as health outcomes that matter to patients relative to the cost of achieving those outcomes. There are gaps within the current healthcare value chain that can be addressed in a meaningful way to make the system as a whole more efficient.

Filling the gaps

Increased digitisation of the healthcare value chain and the measuring of patient outcomes have been vital components for creating more efficient healthcare systems, but we haven’t had the impetus or available investments to implement this at scale. Covid-19 has been somewhat of a catalyst for the deployment of digital healthcare solutions that allow patients to interact with the healthcare system in a more coordinated and meaningful way.

What is critical now is to have a system that allows us to appropriately screen, report, treat and channel patients based on the care they require without overburdening the healthcare system. Predictive modelling, based on available data, is crucial in order to anticipate which facilities will be required to provide services, and then to direct patients accordingly.

In an environment of persistent, phased lockdown, we will presumably move in and out of scaled restrictions on our free movement. In this context, you also need to have an early warning system that can facilitate remote interactions and verifications between patients, pharmacies and healthcare professionals.

A digitised, trustworthy system allows patients to consult with health professionals via video-led technology and receive prescriptions without visiting the practitioner. Healthcare regulations are a vital enabler for innovative digital healthcare solutions to positively impact the demand and supply sides of healthcare. Digital electronic signatures facilitate e-scripting to pharmacies and referrals among healthcare providers. Patients could have a consultation with a healthcare professional, the script could be issued to a pharmacy, and the medication could be safely delivered to the patient’s doorstep without them leaving their home.

Most importantly, vulnerable individuals, i.e. the elderly, the immunocompromised and people with co-morbidity need to be able to self-report via remote monitoring systems. These systems would allow healthcare professionals to effectively triage patients, and healthcare facilities would be able to deal with the more acute, serious cases without exposing patients with less severe conditions to the dangers of infection.

Remote solutions

Healthcare resource allocation will increasingly be managed in terms of infection hotspots. Data management is crucial during this crisis and the South African government has been very responsive in terms of monitoring communities and identifying those hotspot areas. We will need the aggressive continuation of data collection and risk assessment to rapidly identify at-risk communities and prevent flareups.

This requires significant resources in itself, especially given the remoteness of some areas of South Africa. Crisis management systems, communications platforms, and remote support for healthcare workers all need to be rolled out evenly, not just focusing on urban centres. Messaging around behaviours required to prevent infection have to be consistent, clear, credible, and expanded so that remote areas are educated and informed. The more you create a trusted communication environment for communities, the more empowered and informed they are to make the right decisions.

The same is true in terms of the response of corporate South Africa. Certainty around which measures to take – and to invest resources in to protect employees and clients – at each stage of our evolving response to the pandemic will prevent missteps and misallocation of funding.

A clear set of protocols to guide the response of corporate South Africa, outlining the minimum effective standards (as set by government and the WHO) would need to be implemented and followed as lockdown restrictions ease.

I work for a company that specialises in technology and healthcare infrastructure design solutions. My colleagues across the EOH group have been hard at work over the last two months and have made some incredible strides in very little time, rolling out digital solutions such as thermal temperature scanning devices; patient referral and billing systems; eScripting solutions; fully equipped ICUlate mobile ICU and isolation units deployable in both rural and urban areas; the reconfiguring of dental practices with effective extraction systems for Covid-19 risks; crisis management communication apps that monitor employee check-ins, office capacity and the health risk of a workforce returning to service; and new digital channels for remote servicing of clients now and well beyond the pandemic.

Technology, as an enabler for a more efficient healthcare value chain, could facilitate the required outcomes which are so desperately required to effectively navigate and deliver immense patient value during the Covid-19 crisis.

*Milton Streak is a former Executive Principal Officer of the Discovery Health Medical Scheme, and is currently an Executive at NEXTEC, one of the two operating subsidiaries of the EOH Group.

^{Image credit: Photo supplied}

Milton Streak

WellnessMaster

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Category Archives: Mind Building

Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: Backing for govt on pandemic response – but others are suing

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

Coronavirus: Delirium ‘may be common’ in Covid seriously ill

Unknown submarine landslides discovered in Gulf of Mexico

Quantum Hall effect ‘reincarnated’ in 3D topological materials

New study estimates the odds of life and intelligence emerging beyond our planet

Coronavirus symptoms: UK adds loss of smell and taste to list

Health24.com | Spraying disinfectants can be ‘harmful’, says WHO

Coronavirus: Global push for inquiry into Covid-19 response

Health24.com | Dogs may catch coronavirus from owners, but won’t infect humans

Health24.com | OPINION | Enhancing the healthcare value chain during COVID-19

A shock to the system

Filling the gaps

Remote solutions