COVIDConnect speeds up tracking and tracing
New digital system allows for receipt of COVID-19 test results, and tracking and tracing of close contacts on your cellphone
Thanks to constant technological innovation from the Department of Health, South Africans can receive their coronavirus (COVID-19) test result, anonymously report close contacts and receive an SMS alert that they are a close contact, directly on their cellphone.
The messages are sent by an official government system called COVIDConnect, which was launched with various partners, namely Telkom/ BCX, Praekelt.org, GovChat and BlueBird.
“One of the critical aspects of combatting COVID-19 is the ability to detect positive cases early and then track and trace their contacts to help them,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize when he recently launched the digital system.
According to Gaurang Tanna, the project manager of COVIDConnect
and head of Policy Coordination and Integrated Planning at the Department of Health, the system uses simple communication channels, namely SMS, WhatsApp and USSD, to enable citizens to screen for COVID-19 and receive their test result.
It also supports those who have tested positive and anonymously alerts people who may have been in close contact with a positive case.
He explains that COVIDConnect sends an SMS to tell people who have had a COVID-19 test, at either a public or private facility, informing them that their test result is available.
The SMS directs them to GovChat's Let'sTalk WhatsApp line (082 046 8553), which provides their results – whether positive or negative.
If the test result is positive, the system asks a few questions to selfmonitor and requests the cellphone numbers of the people they have been in contact with. It then automatically sends an anonymous SMS to those people to let them know that they could have been exposed to the virus.Your name and contact details are not provided to anyone and your privacy is protected.
The department's initial WhatsApp line was launched in mid-March.
“When the WhatsApp line was introduced, you could get the latest information, news, prevention tips and wellness advice. We introduced screening and risk assessments a month later,” says Tanna.
“With COVIDConnect, we wanted to further support the public.The new functionality means that people do not have to wait as long for their test result and thus stops them from spreading the virus without knowing it. Time is of the essence and convenience is of importance,” he adds.
The system also provides a simple risk-assessment tool, which screens users for COVID-19 symptoms and gives them advice on whether they should self-isolate or seek professional clinical assistance.
The new functionality will enable the Department of Health to more quickly track and trace people who have been exposed to COVID-19 and offer them the help and advice they need.
“Contact tracing is a very important process to supress the pandemic. When the number of people to be traced is large, it becomes difficult to keep up,” says Tanna.
“The system is designed to ensure that we take the burden off our healthcare workers but, more importantly, that our healthcare workers are able to use the selfreported symptoms, take targeted actions and support those who are most in need,” he adds.
The new track and trace functionality was only implemented from June as it took time to design, integrate and implement data flows from various information systems.
“When the numbers were low, this wasn't a problem as healthcare workers were coping. However, as case numbers have increased tremendously, the new technology brings a welcome relief to healthcare workers and tracing teams.”
Prior to the launch of COVIDConnect, a person would have to wait for a doctor to call them with their test result, which sometimes resulted in delays.
“In the public sector, this was often reliant on a person coming back to the hospital or clinic to fetch their results.The new functionality will reduce the turnaround time for the person to get their result and, by implication, can prevent new infections.”
Minister Mkhize says the track and trace service will not infringe people's privacy or data.
“In fact, one of the reasons we delayed the implementation of the system was to ensure that that it passes legal muster and adheres to legal prescripts relating to personal information, confidentiality and individual and data privacy,” he says.
The system also enables the department to track the number of active users. Currently, COVIDConnect has just over 7.5 million users.
Since March, it has processed 355 million messages and over
1.3 million users have screened. Between 28 June and 15 July, the system dispatched 674 380 SMS messages to users nationwide and offered 326 522 test results.
Minister Mkhize says that while 39 463 users have engaged with the digital track and trace service, it is not enough. “The surge of this pandemic requires all citizens to participate. As an individual, at home or at work, once you receive this SMS, we urge that you take it upon yourself to respond as prompted. We believe that this method will significantly enhance contact tracing and reduce the workload of our health workers.”
Anyone who suspects they have COVID-19 can check their symptoms and get instant advice on whether to continue as normal, self-isolate or get tested. Send a WhatsApp, with the message ‘check', to 0600 123 456 or dial *134*832#. Answer some easy questions and you will be given advice.
If you are going for COVID-19 test, ensure that you provide the lab with a valid cellphone number, date of birth and address.
You will receive an SMS once your test result is available. Follow the instructions on the SMS, by sending the WhatsApp message ‘results' to GovChat's Let'sTalk WhatsApp number at 082 046 8553.
If your test is positive, you can go through a self-monitoring process and add the cellphone numbers of people you have been in contact with.They will then be anonymously notified.
If you have come into direct contact with a positive case, you could receive an SMS alert. By following the instructions on the SMS, you can do a simple screening and receive advice on whether to self-isolate or go for a test. Screening should be done daily, for 14 days.
If healthcare and other frontline workers are to be effective in curbing the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), they need up-to-date information on the virus and how it spreads.
To ensure the public health sector and its partners are empowered with the knowledge and skills needed to deal with this highlycontagious disease, the National Department of Health (NDoH) partnered with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop and implement infection prevention and control systems at clinics, hospitals and research facilities.
Senior CSIR researcher Katekani Ngobeni (34) has been very involved with the process, which is
(PPE) and the correct use of PPE.
It is crucial that healthcare workers and other frontline workers understand how to protect themselves from the virus, she says, which means they need comprehensive knowledge of the PPE they use to keep themselves safe.
“Healthcare workers need critical information about respiratory protection. Hospitals across South Africa are running out of N95 masks, which filter at least 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger, including the new coronavirus.
“In response to continued respirator shortages, many countries, including South Africa, have resorted to the use of KN95 masks. However, currently, there are no specific guidelines in South Africa on which criteria apply for the use of the product, including evidence demonstrating that the respirator is authentic.
“In addition, there is conflicting guidance about the application of these respiratory masks. In order to continue providing technical assistance and capacity building to healthcare workers during this lockdown period, we collaborated with the Foundation for Professional Development to provide online
training,” says Ngobeni.
Ngobeni holds a Master of Technology in Environmental Health from the University of Johannesburg. While at the CSIR, she has made a name for herself as a researcher in the field of TB infection prevention and control.
She has travelled across the country and abroad to implement systems that help ensure healthcare workers in resource-limited areas operate in a safer environment.
Ngobeni says her job at the CSIR includes researching the latest safety measures for the prevention of infections and disseminating this information through training sessions throughout the country, as required by the provincial departments of health.
She and her colleagues also help implement infection control measures at healthcare facilities to curb the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and TB.
“I focus a lot on training and capacity development for the NDoH. We do this through conducting risk assessments at different facilities and developing systems that will help them achieve their goal of
infection prevention and control.”
Born in Ka'Ndengeza outside of Giyani in Limpopo, one of Ngobeni's greatest achievements was being selected to attend the Building Design and Engineering Approaches to Airborne Infection Control course at Harvard University in the United States of America.
In 2013, she was a runner-up for the JD Roberts Award for emerging researchers under the age of 35. The award recognises the contributions of young staff members at the CSIR.
However, Ngobeni's journey has not been an easy one. With her parents in Gauteng, Ngobeni lived with her grandmother until Grade 3. She then joined her parents in Protea Glen, Soweto, and attended Alpha Primary School. With the relocation, Ngobeni found herself having to repeat Grade 3, due to her not understanding a word of English at the time.
To remedy the situation, her mother bought children's books for her and in six months' time, Ngobeni's fluency in English had improved a great deal.
She went to high school at Lenasia Secondary School, south of Johannesburg, and found inspiration in a young female environmental health practitioner, who was her mother's friend.
Ngobeni remembers how meeting her mother's friend sparked the desire to want to follow the same career path and after matriculating, she enrolled for a National Diploma in Environmental Health at the University of Johannesburg.
Instead of doing her year of community service immediately, she opted to complete her B Tech (equivalent to a degree qualification).
She then completed her yearlong community service at the City of Johannesburg, after which the city appointed her as an environmental health practitioner on a full-time basis, servicing health facilities in Johannesburg.
With her career flourishing, Ngobeni moved to the Gauteng Department of Health where she took up the position of chief healthcare officer focussing on waste management in 2010.
She joined the CSIR in 2011 as an infection control specialist focusing on infection prevention and control.