First clinical data on COVID-19 published in South Africa
Apr 24th, 2020

Sabinet, as the aggregator of the largest collection of South African scholarly and research journals, is proud to host the first clinical data on COVID-19 published in South Africa on Sabinet African Journals.

The COVID-19 Special Issue of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine, published by Wits University Press, covers a range of aspects of the pandemic and its impact. Many aspects of this viral pandemic in South Africa are reviewed and information and direction are provided for healthcare professionals in South Africa.

This special issue sheds light on some of the first local infection data regarding COVID-19. Within, readers will find necessary information when it comes to understanding this multi-faceted pandemic which faces us all, as well as links to the full-texts of the articles referenced. This journal covers a wide range of aspects related to the pandemic and runs the scope from clinical to ethical as well as giving consideration to the social dynamics of its impact and after-effects. The tough topics – inequality, poverty, and social responsibility among them – are also tackled.

The pandemic has brought to light many issues whilst simultaneously raising a variety of questions regarding how we handle these types of emergency situations, and this special issue aims to provide insight into how best we can find our way forward.

Sabinet is honoured to be able to collaborate with Wits University Press to host to this journal and these articles as OPEN ACCESS which means that this valuable research is available to any and all who might need it.

Commenting on these difficult and somewhat scary times where social media is awash with all sorts of quackery regarding prevention and treatment remedies for COVID-19, Prof Pravin Manga, from the Wits School of Medicine, and Editor-in-Chief of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine says, “it is during these times that we need to keep rationality and be guided by science rather than by emotion”. And this is a sentiment which Sabinet agrees with wholeheartedly.

If we are to stop this pandemic quickly, immediate access to relevant research is imperative. “Access to information is the fundamental purpose of the services that Sabinet offers”, concludes Rosalind Hattingh, Managing Director of Sabinet.

About Sabinet

With a sound performance history of over 35 years, Sabinet has firmly established itself as a leader in facilitating access to a wide spectrum of high-quality and credible information sources. Over the course of the last three decades, Sabinet has built a strong local and international reputation for providing Africa’s information to the world and the world’s information to Africa.

Sabinet’s mission to support libraries’ technical processes, promote resource sharing and enable access to information sources is underpinned by its commitment, partnerships, understanding and support.

Sabinet’s roots are in library support services, where it is recognised for providing central platforms for collaboration and resource sharing among libraries.

With regard to all of the above: just because we’re working a little bit differently in light of the lockdown, doesn’t mean we’ve had to make any sacrifices to the services we provide. Our performance is still sound, we’re on-mission now and always, and our roots remain unchanged and, more importantly, sturdy.

Sabinet | Press Office