South Africa’s HIGHER HEALTH has launched a version of HealthCheck, a digital pre-screening, risk assessment and mapping tool, which will play an integral part in the opening of campuses to students. The HIGHER HEALTH pre-screening service was announced by the country’s Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister, Blade Nzimande in April.
As Step One in the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology’s protocol on Screening, Testing, Linkage to Care and Contract Tracing, students and staff at learning institutions will be encouraged to do a daily HealthCheck through the HIGHER HEALTH tool.
Alongside the symptoms and risk questions, HIGHER HEALTH users will supply their name and surname as well as institution and location information. The HIGHER HEALTH tool will also issue receipts after users complete their pre-screening self-assessment, providing students and staff an endorsed declaration of their risk level with a validity period of 24 hours.
The digital receipts for the HIGHER HEALTH self-assessment result will see individuals fall into low risk (green), medium risk (orange) or high-risk (red) categories. All users will get a receipt and those who get a low risk result will be able to use the digital certificate for a period of 24 hours from being issued when entering spaces of public engagement. Based on guidelines provided by the NDoH, should the results of the self-check require further action, users will be guided to self-isolate, test or get emergency care.
The HIGHER HEALTH WhatsApp ,USSD and web-based COVID-19 digital risk-assessment and mapping tool has been deployed in partnership with non-profit technology organisation Praekelt.org using Turn.io technology.
The data collected through the HIGHER HEALTH HealthCheck service (including age, gender and) will be used by the National Department of Health to facilitate tracking and tracing and the early detection of breakouts. HIGHER HEALTH’s HealthCheck service is currently available in English and will soon be available in other local languages.
HealthCheck’s receipt function is also available on the National Department of Health’s COVID-19 CONNECT WhatsApp line for use by the public at large, helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as economic activities resume in South Africa.
The HIGHER HEALTH pre-screening tool is available online at https://healthcheck.higherhealth.ac.za/, for free on USSD by dialling *134*832*2# or on WhatsApp by saving the number 0600 11 0000 to your contacts and then messaging the word ‘check’ to be guided through the pre-screening assessment.
