The Free State institution is at the forefront of the production of these essential medical items in the province, which have been in shortage worldwide, following the outbreak of the deadly acute respiratory syndrome. 

CUT has reportedly set R1 million aside as a seed, to kick-start the urgent production of these items.  

OFM News previously reported that CUT’s centre for rapid prototyping and manufacturing, as well as the product development technology station (PDTS), are via 3D-printing making positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) masks for non-invasive ventilation in COVID-19 patients. 

The Universitas Academic Hospital’s head of surgery and chairperson of the coronavirus task team in the area, Nicholas Pearce, estimated previously the institution will be able to produce roughly 300 of these masks per day. In addition to this, the CUT plans to also produce oxygen connectors and splitters, to increase the capacity of hospitals.

Furthermore, CUT’s students and staff in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences have emulated the likes of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in the Eastern Cape in producing sanitisers. They plan to hand their products over to varied state health facilities.

This visit comes as prominent epidemiologist and HIV researcher, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, revealed on national television on Monday night that South Africa won’t be able to escape the worst of the pandemic despite the implementation of a stringent lockdown. The worst being the exponential rise in infection rates and most likely rise in deaths. 

According to the leading researcher, the lockdown has given the country some time to ready itself by producing essential medical items and tracking as many cases as they can. He estimates it will take at least a year or 18 months to develop a vaccine for the virus. The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa now exceeds 2200 with 27 people who died from the virus.

OFM News