Students rally to fight COVID-19
The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is encouraging students to come up with creative solutions in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) for the National Science and Technology Fair.
Initially slated for June, the event has been postponed to September and is focused on innovations to address COVID-19.
“To ensure that we are prepared to face the challenges and threats posed by
COVID-19, students should be part of the conversation, so we are encouraging them to use this period to do research and be innovative in the face of the virus outbreak,” Kavelle
Hylton, acting coordinator of the Science and
Technology Education
Unit at the SRC, said.
“Their ideas can give birth to innovative solutions that can be utilised for strengthening the fight against COVID-19. This is another way to get students to take the threat of the virus more seriously, because they will be required to conduct their research and fact-check existing materials on COVID-19,” she added.
The call for younsters to come up with creative solutions in response to the coronavirus comes against the background of Rayvon Stewart, a 25-yarold University of Technology student, being hailed for his invention that could possibly tackle the virus.
The youngster, who hails from the rural district of Prospect in Portland, developed a piece of technology called XERMOSOL, which has proven critical in fighting the lethal bacteria, klebsiella, that was identified in the hospitals.
Patricia Scotland, secretary-general of the Commonwealth, highlighted Stewert’s invention and the positive contribution it might have on humanity during this crisis