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This paper presents the results of a systematic review of literature, reported in research journals, on the experiences of higher educational institutions regarding teaching, learning, and assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Different studies related to the Covid-19 pandemic have been conducted within the South African context, but there has not been a systematic review of these studies highlighting the lessons learned, how these lessons have affected education in higher education institutions (HEIs), and how these lessons can inform future planning. This study aims to summarise literature on teaching, learning and assessment in higher education institutions and to conceptualise possible guidelines for future planning. An analysis of 52 research articles revealed 7 implications for the lessons learnt from the pandemic for future teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) in South African HEIs (realisation of the affordances of technology for TLA, institutional changes related to online TLA during the pandemic, students' experiences related to TLA, lecturer's experiences related to TLA, the need for care, assessment related matters, approaches to teaching, learning and assessment) and several recommendations for how these lessons can be leveraged to help HEIs to prepare effectively for future catastrophic disruptions to education in South African HEIs. The discussion shows the digital divide that exists within the South African population and other contextual challenges faced by higher education institutions during the pandemic, and the different sacrifices by both institutions and students to survive the pandemic. Overall, the findings of this review provide valuable guidance for HEIs and stakeholders involved in TLA, offering insights on how to integrate the lessons learned from the pandemic into their future planning and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 in South Africa, many safety measures were implemented to protect the lives of the population. Ironically, these same safety measures have negatively impacted on the lives of children and their caregivers resulting in increased mental health problems. This study forms part of the multicountry Co-SPACE (COVID-19: Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children during Epidemics) study that explores how families are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what caregivers can do to help support their children's mental health. This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the mental health status of families specifically in South Africa in the early onset of the pandemic during restrictive lockdown measures, and identify certain risk factors that might contribute towards deteriorating mental health. Two hundred and fifty-four South African parents and carers of children and adolescents completed an online survey about their child's mental health as well as their own mental health during and post- hard lockdown in South Africa. Data collection took place over the period of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Results showed that children experienced significantly higher mental health problems than adolescents (p = 0.016). Younger children were particularly negatively affected by lockdown and had more mental health problems than adolescents (p = 0.023); including emotional problems (p = 0.017), misconduct (p = 0.030), and hyperactivity (p = 0.001). Additionally, the presence of special educational needs/neurodevelopmental disorders (SEN/ND) was associated with more mental health problems (p = 0.001). Surprisingly, single parent households, which is another well-known risk factor showed no differences in mental health problems compared to nuclear families. There was also a reciprocal relationship between parental/carer mental health and child/adolescent mental health, with higher level of endorsement of mental health problems in children by parents/caregivers who themselves associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress (all p's < 0.001). These results highlight the dramatic impact that COVID-19 had on children, adolescents and parents in South Africa early in the pandemic, and emphasises the need for specific support structures to be implemented within the SEN/ND community, as well as for younger children and single parent households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government, policy, intervention campaigns, and communication strategies tend to separate social environmental issues from green environmental issues, and more recently, placing emphasis on responding to the pandemic. Interventions with an individualistic focus has also received criticism. Isolating issues from each other makes them deceptively simpler to deal in the short term, but at the cost of their interconnectedness impacting how future disasters might be managed. This myopic approach is of particular concern considering how climate change is increasingly impacting South Africans. This paper proposes two central questions: given evidence of the likely zoonotic source of COVID-19, how have relative rankings of the green environment changed between 2016 (pre COVID-19) and 2021 (COVID-19), and what does this mean for the study of environmental justice? A study conducted with 721 South Africans in 2016 aimed to establish where green environmental issues ranked compared to social and economic concerns. Subsequently, the pandemic provided an opportunity to conduct a follow up study with 665 South Africans to determine whether issues of concern are different during a pandemic. The results show that in the face of evidence of the zoonotic origins of COVID-19, there were little to no shifts in the ranking of green environmental issues in 2021 compared to 2016 among a sample of South Africans. The findings from this study suggest that red and brown issues could be powerfully leveraged to mobilise a range of movements for environmental justice in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eruption of the novel virus brought to the global scene the prediction that Africa would be worse hit by the pandemic. This prediction was partly built on the widely recognized fact that Africa is the continent with the weakest public health care system and the lowest budgetary allocations to health. However, contrary to this prediction, the COVID-19 death rate in Africa has been low compared to in other continents. Debates on Africa's low COVID-19 death rate have generated mixed reactions, the majority of which have centred on beliefs and superstition about hot weather and Africa's youth-dominated society. Little or none of these reactions have attributed the low COVID-19 death rate to swift and prudent budgetary adjustment, which partly aided a swift response from some African governments. Indeed, not many studies have examined the swiftness in the response of some African governments and prudent budgetary adjustment in tackling the spread of COVID-19. This paper, through secondary data, advances knowledge on how budget revision aided government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and Nigeria. It found that both countries adjusted their budgetary allocations in response to COVID-19. It further indicates that South Africa, through budgetary revision, allocated more funds to government agencies in charge of COVID-19 and various relief packages than Nigeria. Moreover, it indicates that the swift budgetary adjustment by both countries partly aided a quick government response that progressively flattened the curve and, in the long run, partly contributed to fiscal impulse and deferrals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black bodies have been the site of devastation for centuries. We who inhabit and love these bodies live in a state of perpetual mourning. We mourn the disproportionate dying in our families, communities and the dying in the black diaspora. We are yet to come to terms with the death that accompanied the AIDS pandemic. Tuberculosis breeds in the conditions within which most of us live. We die from hours spent in the belly of the earth where we dig for minerals to feed the unquenchable thirst of capital. Malaria targets our neighbors with deathly accuracy. Ebola stalks west Africa where it has established itself as a rapacious black disease. It kills us. In the black diaspora, African Americans are walking targets for American police who kill and imprison them at rates that have created a prison industrial complex. Africans die in the Mediterranean ocean and join the spirits of ancestors drowned centuries ago. With South Africa as the point of departure, this paper stages a transcontinental examination of black death. It is animated by the following questions. What are the dimensions of black death, what is its scale and how is it mourned? What does the COVID-19 pandemic mean for we who are so intimately familiar with death? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a public health emergency of international concern. South Africa, like many other countries, initiated a multifaceted national response to the pandemic. Self-isolation and quarantine are essential components of the public health response in the country. This paper examined perceptions and preparedness for self-isolation or quarantine during the initial phase of the pandemic in South Africa.Methods: The analysis used data obtained from an online quantitative survey conducted in all nine provinces using a data-free platform. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyse the data.Results: Of 55,823 respondents, 40.1% reported that they may end up in self-isolation or quarantine, 32.6% did not think that they would and 27.4% were unsure. Preparedness for self-isolation or quarantine was 59.0% for self, 53.8% for child and 59.9% for elderly. The odds of perceived possibility for self-isolation or quarantine were significantly higher among Coloureds, Whites, and Indians/Asians than Black Africans, and among those with moderate or high self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 than those with low risk perception. The odds were significantly lower among older age groups than those aged 18-29 years, and those unemployed than fully employed. The odds of preparedness for self-isolation or quarantine were significantly less likely among females than males. Preparedness for self, child and elderly isolation or quarantine was significantly more likely among other population groups than Black Africans and among older age groups than those aged 18-29 years. Preparedness for self, child and elderly isolation or quarantine was significantly less likely among those self-employed than fully employed and those residing in informal dwellings than formal dwellings. In addition, preparedness for self-isolation or quarantine was significantly less likely among those with moderate and high self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 than low risk perception.Conclusion: The findings highlight the challenge of implementing self-isolation or quarantine in a country with different and unique social contexts. There is a need for public awareness regarding the importance of self-isolation or quarantine as well as counter measures against contextual factors inhibiting this intervention, especially in impoverished communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General legislation as well as legislation specifically regulating education in South Africa is aimed at the protection and advancement of the best interests of children (learners). Developments in the school education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached the shores of South Africa in March 2020, starkly underscored that not only the interests of the learners were at stake but also those of a variety of other stakeholders such as the parents (-in-organisation), the teachers (-in-organisation), the wider community (civil society) and the state (in the form of, for instance, the Departments of Basic Education and of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs). An examination of the situation in the schooling sector reveals that decisions had to be taken about the opening and reopening of schools in a context of great complexity. This paper examines this complexity from two vantage points, a societal-theoretical and a pedagogicalethical perspective. The societal-theoretical perspective might help all the role-players to gain a deeper understanding of what their respective roles should be during a crisis: does a situation such as this indeed require a nanny-state (based on the notion of an external locus of control) or should the state allow all those involved to just muddle through the crisis; how should the different role-players interact with one another while confining themselves to their own spheres of competence and respecting those of other parties? The pedagogical-ethical perspective, in turn, might assist the various role-players to understand the ethical dilemmas that tend to surface during a pandemic. The aim of the investigation was to derive guidelines for role-players to find their way through the complexity brought about by a crisis such as a pandemic that seemed to threaten the very fibre of civil life1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal settlements remain a public health problem as they lack basic infrastructure. Furthermore, it is challenging to enforce public health regulations and protocols to prevent the spread of infection during a pandemic. This paper was set out to explore the impact of lockdown during COVID-19 among people living in informal settlements. An exploratory qualitative design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select research participants. In-depth one-to-one interviews were held involving 30 research participants through a WhatsApp online telephone platform. A thematic approach underpinned by the four stages of data analysis in interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilised to analyse the data. The study found that during the the research participants were affected by lack of space to practice social distancing, over-burdened infrastructure, lack of savings, loss of income and shortage of food, hunger and diseases, anxiety and depression and poor access to education. There is a need to prioritise the needs of informal settlers and endeavour to establish permanent homes. Health promotion and communication initiatives and pandemic awareness programmes are needed to mitigate the impact of lockdown during a pandemic in informal settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 January 2020. Many nations, including South Africa, have seen an increase in COVID-19 outbreaks in their population, including those working in and incarcerated in correctional centres. Responding to COVID-19 in correctional centres is a major challenge, particularly due to overcrowding and limited medical resources. This paper uses secondary data to investigate the spread of COVID-19 in South African cor - rectional centres. It focuses on the problems faced by the South African Department of Correctional Services in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in its correctional facilities. The author proposes measures to be followed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in such facilities. The findings reveal that despite efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in South African correctional centres, the virus spread rapidly among inmates and prison workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on working mothers from the United States and South Africa. This study sought to highlight both cross-cultural similarities and differences. American and South African working mothers took part in online interviews. Eighteen participants were included in the sample, ten participants lived in the United States, while eight participants currently resided in South Africa. The age range of the participants' children was from 0 to 21 years old. Each participant met individually with the researcher and answered a series of open-ended questions regarding their experiences of being a working mother during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers analyzed interviews using thematic analysis. Common themes emerged in the interviews with both American and South African working mothers. Mothers in the United States and South Africa both noted the need for flexible work schedules as well as expressed difficulty balancing roles as mothers and professionals during the pandemic. Increased motivation and resiliency as well as lack of representation of women leaders were themes specific to South African mothers in this study. Conversely, feelings of decreased interest in pursuing leadership opportunities was a theme specific to American mothers in this study. The current study adds to the growing body of literature documenting the effect of the pandemic on working mothers, and builds on this research by including a qualitative component to gain knowledge from working mothers themselves. The narratives collected in the current study highlight commonalities as well as differences in the experiences of working mothers in the United States and South Africa, which holds important implications for how workplaces and the broader community can best attend to the unique needs of working mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on global operations and economies. Inadvertently, lock-downs and working from home have reduced the daily carbon footprints of inter alia transport and office buildings. A beneficial consequence of carbon footprint reductions is the ability to measure the differential demand of occupants, to benchmark the base load of buildings, and identify opportunities for efficiency improvements. In this paper we evaluate the change in energy demand in five public schools in South Africa with changes in occupancy due to the COVID-19-imposed lockdowns. We make recommendations to carry these savings into the everyday operation of the schools, and estimate the savings for forthcoming closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and anxiety levels of healthcare workers in Turkey and South Africa and to determine the possible factors associated with anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 864 healthcare workers in Turkey and South Africa was conducted during May 1-October 30, 2020. The questionnaire included sociodemographic, individual, work-related, and about coronavirus disease 2019 questions. Anxiety was measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Results: A total of 864 people answered the questionnaire, 527 from South Africa and 337 from Turkey. Healthcare workers in both countries have mild anxiety levels, and the median value of the Beck Anxiety Scale score was significantly higher in the participants from South Africa (10) than the participants in Turkey (8) (P = .004). Compared to Turkey, the risk of moderate/severe anxiety was 1.56 times higher in South Africa. Female gender, duties out of work definition, difficulties of chronic illness management, difficulties in accessing the treatment of mental health problem, living with a person who is older than 65 or has a comorbidity, and personal protective equipment support were found to be associated with moderate/severe anxiety (P < .05). Conclusion: In order to reduce the mental health impact on healthcare workers, pandemic readiness plans must take into account working hours and workload, adequate personal protective equipment supply, and measures to provide psychological support to healthcare workers, especially those with pre-existing mental health illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the experiences of fifteen occupational therapists during the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants from rural and urban areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were recruited using snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews and personal narratives were used to collect data on occupational engagement during the pandemic. Inductive thematic analysis was used. The impact of Covid-19 on occupational engagement, occupational adaptations, factors that negatively influenced occupational engagement and enablers to occupational engagement emerged as themes. Participants experienced role changes at work and home, as well as feelings of isolation. It is essential to advocate for the role of occupation therapy during a pandemic. Ethical Clearance Number: BREC/00002587/2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore how organisations working on parenting programmes and other types of family support and violence prevention in low-resource settings experienced the pandemic. In August 2020–May 2021, we interviewed (1) staff from three community-based organisations delivering evidence-informed parenting interventions and other psychosocial services for families in Cape Town, South Africa, (2) staff from a parenting programme training organisation and (3) staff from two international organisations supporting psychosocial services in South Africa. Interviews (22) were thematically analysed, with findings in three areas. First, respondents noted changes in the context, including the job losses, food insecurity, and stress experienced by local communities, and reductions in organisational funding. Second, we found that in response to these context changes, the organisations shifted their focus to food provision and COVID prevention. Parenting and psychosocial programmes were adapted – e.g. by changing the physical delivery settings, reducing group sizes, and taking up digital and phone implementation. Participants reported improved perceptions of remote delivery as a feasible approach for working with families – but internet and phone access remained challenging. Third, the pandemic brought new responsibilities for staff, and both the challenges of working from home and the health risks of in-person work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remain vulnerable during the Covid‐19 outbreak due to significant changes to their daily routines, social interactions and diets. In addition, these challenges may be exacerbated for children living in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) such as South Africa where there are already barriers such as poverty, access to resources and availability of support. Understanding the impact of the Covid‐19 outbreak on children with ASD is imperative in order to create awareness as well as provide equitable services and support to both children with ASD and their families. Purpose The study aimed to explore family‐reported changes for children with ASD and their reactions and responses to the Covid‐19 restrictions in South Africa. Method: A qualitative research design was employed. Twelve families consisting of different family compositions with a total of 21 family members (mothers, fathers and grandmothers) participated in the current study using semistructured interviews. Data were transcribed and analysed using a framework method for thematic analysis. Results: Findings indicated that children with ASD present with unique challenges related to Covid‐19. Negative themes such as children's obstructive reactions due to the immediate changes to their routines, increases in emotional dysregulation as well as loss of previously acquired skills as a result of lack of access to services during lockdown were reported. However, families also reported on positive changes such as improved social interactions as children became more accustomed to their new lockdown routines. Implications: The Covid‐19 response has had a negative impact on children with disabilities, specifically around access to services and support for both children with ASD and their families. While the future of the virus and impending lockdown measures is unknown, clinicians, providers and educators need to ensure that provisions are made for children's current adjustments as well as further adjustments to their current routines both during and after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Built on Internet-based research, this article traverses the less-charted terrain of the impact of COVID-19 on workers within South Africa during the country's level 5 lockdown, which began on 26 March 2020 and ended on 30 April 2020. It reveals that the post-apartheid state's adoption of austerity measures—which began in the 1990s—hampered efforts to meaningfully protect workers' lives and livelihoods during the lockdown. The post-1994 African National Congress (ANC) government's neoliberal neglect of public health, housing and transportation made it next to impossible for the state to confront the virus, a challenge that required working and reliable infrastructure. Despite all these adversities, and in the general absence of the unions that were prevented from operating during lockdown level 5, workers resisted and demanded improved health and safety for themselves, better working conditions and access to transportation during the level 5 lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on global health and economics. The impact in African countries has not been investigated thoroughly via fitting epidemic models to the reported COVID-19 deaths. We downloaded the data for the 12 most-affected countries with the highest cumulative COVID-19 deaths to estimate the time-varying basic reproductive number ( R 0 (t) ) and infection attack rate. We develop a simple epidemic model and fitted it to reported COVID-19 deaths in 12 African countries using iterated filtering and allowing a flexible transmission rate. We observe high heterogeneity in the case-fatality rate across the countries, which may be due to different reporting or testing efforts. South Africa, Tunisia, and Libya were most affected, exhibiting a relatively higher R 0 (t) and infection attack rate. Thus, to effectively control the spread of COVID-19 epidemics in Africa, there is a need to consider other mitigation strategies (such as improvements in socioeconomic well-being, healthcare systems, the water supply, and awareness campaigns). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pre-Covid-19 world of work was rife with inequalities and difficulties, with more than 40 per cent of working-age South Africans unemployed. The majority of those in employment were barely able to eke out a living - between 20 per cent to 30 per cent were working in the informal economy, mostly without labour rights and social protection and earning low incomes that trapped them in poverty. The precarious nature of the South African labour market before the Covid-19 pandemic was characterised by casualisation, informalisation, and externalisation of work. This resulted in the reduction of the number of workers employed for definite periods and rising levels of precarious workers. This article investigates the precarious nature of work and the various work paradigms present in the South African labour market before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. New challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and new forms of work in the South African labour market are also considered, together with measures taken to address precarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic has continued to cause havoc and untold suffering worldwide. The pandemic's pattern of spreading has varied between continents and indeed within countries. Studies looking at the factors affecting the dynamics of COVID-19 in African countries are limited. In this study we attempt to assess and understand the differential spread of COVID-19 in Africa by looking at South Africa (Southern Africa), Senegal (West Africa), Egypt and Morocco (North Africa), Rwanda (Central Africa) and Kenya (East Africa). We observed a high prevalence of COVID-19 in South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. Furthermore, South Africa ranks first in the number of reported confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospitalisations and deaths in Africa. Senegal (Western Africa) shows lower confirmed cases and death rates. Based on the findings, it is crucial for these countries' governments and health authorities to be vigilant in mobilising effective medical resources and to continue educating their citizens in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education and mental health of the university environment is relatively unknown, it is expected to be very significant considering the high incidence of emotional reactions amongst university students and staff. While fears around COVID-19 exposure, anxieties, and the challenges of support normalize stress, anxiety, and depression as emotional reactions in the face of the pandemic, this psychosocial impact has negative consequences for the university community. Thus, in order to salvage the higher education institutions from the debilitating effects of the pandemic, there is a clear need to safeguard the welfare of students and staff. Hence, it becomes vital to examine the experience of members of the university community during the COVID-19 crisis in order to develop measures and implement interventions that will assist in navigating psychosocial challenges. Underpinned by Hettler's model of holistic wellness which was developed to promote wellness in the university community settings, the study employed a mixed-method research approach in which data was collected using web-based survey and online interviews. Concurrent triangulation sampling technique was employed to select a sample of fifteen students, five university managers, and five lecturers - making twenty-five respondents at each of the two universities, thus making a cumulative total of fifty at two rural universities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Thus, quantitative and qualitative data collected were analysed concurrently by first reporting the quantitative findings and then comparing them with qualitative findings. Findings revealed that although the university environment traditionally provided opportunities for strengthening social ties which satisfy the universal need to belong to a community, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered rural university life, thus, significantly impacting on psychosocial wellbeing. The study recommends that rural institutions must facilitate psychosocial wellness programming with the assistance of wider stakeholders such as the government and the private sector who can assist in financing this initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple crises have emerged in South Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. General well-being is in severe danger from the immediate effects of the virus and the longer-term impact of hunger due to a growing economic crisis. While the working-class majority struggle, there is a political struggle for political power playing out among factions in the ruling party. These tensions flared up in the wake of President Jacob Zuma's imprisonment in July 2021, leading to widespread unrest and destruction. These experiences point to a failing economic system that neglected the poor. If this neglect continues, then this unrest may continue. In making this argument, I base my analysis upon the views of political luminaries such as Neville Alexander, Archie Mafeje, and Roger Southall. Their views are linked to the experiences of many South Africans during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an excess in morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Containment strategies rely firstly on rapid and sensitive laboratory diagnosis, with molecular detection of the viral genome in respiratory samples being the gold standard. The reliability of diagnostic protocols could be affected by SARS-CoV-2 genetic variability. In fact, mutations occurring during SARS-CoV-2 genomic evolution can involve the regions targeted by the diagnostic probes. Following a review of the literature and an in silico analysis of the most recently described virus variants (including the UK B 1.1.7 and the South Africa 501Y.V2 variants), we conclude that the described genetic variability should have minimal or no effect on the sensitivity of existing diagnostic protocols for SARS-CoV-2 genome detection. However, given the continuous emergence of new variants, the situation should be monitored in the future, and protocols including multiple targets should be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]