Some Stellenbosch University (SU) student leaders living in residences are calling on fellow residents to take all necessary safety precautions to ensure each other’s safety. This is in light of the suspended mandatory seven-day quarantine period for students coming back from other parts of the province or country.
PHOTO: Facebook/ LLL Village Stellenbosch University
According to the communique sent out by the university on 16 September, returning students are expected to present a record proving that they completed the daily self-screening for seven consecutive days, before arriving back to their respective residences.
This protocol would replace the previous requirement for students to quarantine in residences for a week upon their return, according to the communique.
Residents who do not complete Higher Health checks will be forced to undergo the full seven-day quarantine period, according to Pieter Kloppers, director of SU’s Centre for Student Communities (CSC).
“Those who do not comply, or did not have sufficient time to do a seven-day completion of the Higher Health tool will still quarantine when they arrive back at their residences,” he said.
The Higher Health app, a tool used by tertiary institutions to measure the health of students and staff. Some students question its effectiveness in light of an expected increase of students returning to university residences.
Video: Hloni Manare
The decision to suspend the quarantine period was influenced by an easing of restrictions due to the country’s shift in lockdown levels, and the hope that students and staff will be responsible to regulate their health and check-in when necessary, said Kloppers.
“Lowering of the national alert levels also means that we have to move towards leaning more on self-responsibility and co-responsibility in our behaviour — staff and students alike,” he said.
In light thereof, students that demonstrate their adherence by completing the Higher Health tool before their return to campus do not have to quarantine upon arrival, he said.
Safety in living spaces
According to some student leaders, this decision puts their health at risk.
Even though quarantine regulations have been eased, the sense of normalcy will take a while to come back, said Olwethu Nxumalo, incoming house committee member at Metanoia Residence.
“As a house committee, we are still busy with the logistics of regulating students that are coming back little-by-little,” Nxumalo said. “There is a feeling of uncertainty as some residents have expressed concern with the new regulations by the university as they worry about the virus potentially coming into living spaces.”
Thus, it is the responsibility of leaders to ensure that SU residents are safe, said Nxumalo.
The lifting of the mandatory isolation looks like it could present risks for many residents, said Sinakho Ncala, mentor at Majuba Men’s Residence.
Although the curve has somewhat flattened, the virus is still around and the isolation period needs to be taken more seriously, he said.
According to Ncala, the new regulations seem futile because there are no mechanisms to ensure that students are not infected with Covid-19, apart from the Higher Health checks.
“In as much as it is extremely easy to [lie about] these health checks, it is much easier for some residents simply not to do them,” he said.