While statistics on the COVID-19 situation in South Africa paints an optimistic picture with over 80,000 citizens being tested to date, experts assert that the spread of the virus is inevitable.

Government and municipalities, together with many companies have banded together to help alleviate the stress caused by the virus.

Various funds and initiatives have been established to help with providing food and other essential goods to South African communities.

However, what will happen post-lockdown? How can business leaders assist with employee health when the lockdown eases?

“We need to start planning now as the need amplifies for healthcare and health monitoring for our workforce,” says Devon Solomon a project leader for the CoronaFighter initiative, angel investor and entrepreneur.

“Our employees and communities are looking to us to lead them through this pandemic.”

Solomon believes that a viable way to help alleviate the stress on the healthcare system is through real-time, self-monitoring medical technologies.

A forward-thinking way to do this on a larger scale is to turn to innovative medical technologies, such as the CoronaFighter web-based app at www.testforcovid.co.za– to provide the tools to screen and support people to stay safer.

“While we are all appreciative that our circumstances seem to be improving, we have a long road ahead and the business community at large should start to plan for a future beyond the extended lockdown that prioritises and monitors the safety of their businesses and the staff that propel them forward,” says Solomon.

Due to the unprecedented spread of the virus and a global shortage of test kits, self-monitoring has become extremely important and is likely to become even more so as people begin to return to work.

“We want leaders to extend the message that only once we know who is at risk for infection can we help them gain access to treatment, protect their families, and protect our workforce from further infection,” says Dr Jarred Van Zuydam – a team doctor on the CoronaFighter initiative and a sports physician.

“If we are not able to monitor our population efficiently, we risk re-spreading the infection and undoing any gains made through the lockdown,” he says.

“To survive and then thrive after the COVID-19 pandemic we need to work together. Every citizen needs to take responsibility for monitoring their health, every business needs to ensure that their staff are healthy and protected.”

Dr Van Zuydam stresses the need for a cooperative relationship between the private and public sector to efficiently manage medical resources.

CoronaFighter plays an important role in facilitating this relationship by allowing people to identify the earliest possible indication of symptoms common with COVID-19 and directing them to appropriate healthcare without putting more strain on the medical system.

More than 3,500 South Africans have used and shared the symptom screener.

The CoronaFighter team has been working around the clock to extend the reach of the app by partnering with several corporates and medical organisations to deploy the use of the CoronaFighter app as a self-monitoring mechanism for more communities.

“CoronaFighter provides accurate, consistent and unbiased advice to all its users. Also, thanks to its ability to collect and directly share data with top researchers, it is a necessary part of the long-term solution in the fight against this virus,” adds Solomon.

“The nature of the virus means that every poorly managed infection puts an entire community at risk. Leaders of all kinds have a unique responsibility to educate their communities and share information that is current and valid and to encourage the use of capable solutions within their community to curb the spread of the disease.

“CoronaFighter offers both and proves that if we work together, we can create tried and tested technologies to help keep the world healthier,” he concludes.