Telecommunications group Telkom and Samsung on Thursday announced a partnership that will see a distribution of 1500 cell phones to health workers tracking people exposed to people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko said the Telkom team has been working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop a novel track and trace solution to identify people who may have contracted COVID-19.
“At Telkom we are deeply concerned about what the spread of this pandemic may mean for ordinary South Africans and for the already overstretched health sector. We are privileged to be able to contribute to this solution which we believe will help to significantly contain the spread of new infections,” said Maseko.
President Ramaphosa on Monday announced that South Africa would be deploying 10 000 field workers to expand testing efforts in a bid to slow the spread of the disease.
CEO & President of Samsung Africa, Sung Yoon, said: “What we face is a generation-defining moment, a challenge unlike any other. However, our belief in Africa and its people remains steadfast and strong. I know, working together, we can and we will rise to this challenge.”
