Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande says that his department will use HealthCheck, a purpose-built coronavirus daily screening and monitoring tool, to allow students to return to campus safely.<\/p>\n
Launched by the Department of Health in April, Nzimande said that the platform will be used in all higher-education institutions, including universities, and will be is available on various platforms including USSD, WhatsApp and through the web.<\/p>\n
He added that students will not need to have a smartphone and can use any device to access the HealthCheck – including tablets.<\/p>\n
“HealthCheck is secured to use by students and staff entering our campuses daily to self-check their body temperature and will link such data to the tracking system of the Department of Health.<\/p>\n
“All students and staff – approximately two million people – will be required to register for HealthCheck and use it every day to assess their own level of risk prior to entering campuses.<\/p>\n
“Based on the answers entered on the platform, the person receives a message indicating whether you are a low, moderate or high-level risk.”<\/p>\n
Nzimande said that if the risk is low, the individual will receive clearance valid for 24 hours<\/strong>.<\/p>\n He added that the tool will allow for early detection, mapping and management of Covid-19 cases within the country’s Higher Education institutions and feeds into the Department of Health’s tracking and tracing system, he said.<\/p>\n HealthCheck is available on USSD for those without access to airtime or internet, with network operators MTN, Telkom and Vodacom having made access to the USSD line free.<\/p>\n Users can also access the service through government’s Covid-19 WhatsApp Service.<\/p>\n The USSD version is available by dialling *134*832# where people are prompted to follow the menu instructions and answer a series of short questions.<\/p>\n More details on the platform are expected to be provided to students at a later date.<\/p>\n