COVID-19 and the academe in South Africa: Not business as usual

Abstract

The famous R.E.M. song laments ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it, I had some time alone, I feel fine…’. Many South Africans would agree that COVID-19 signals the end of the world (or business) as we know it, and through the lockdown we have certainly had some time alone. But contrary to the lyrics, all may not be fine, especially for South Africa’s scientific community. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has impacted every economic and social sector1 across the globe, including higher education in South Africa. Every student and staff member at a higher education institution will have been affected in some way and to varying degrees; not one person will emerge from this unscathed. It is impossible to predict every short- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we will experience the aftershocks for a long time to come. Here we discuss some of these impacts, ranging from undergraduate level to large research projects, and we offer suggestions on how to mitigate some of the damage.