You are invited to the next data breakfast by Dr Vukosi Marivate (University of Pretoria).

Date: Friday, 29 May 2020
Time: 07h30-08h30
Platform: zoom

Title: "Use of Available Data to Inform the COVID-19 Outbreak in South Africa: A Case Study Abstract"

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2020. Currently, there are no vaccines or treatments that have been approved after clinical trials. Social distancing measures, including travel bans, school closure, and quarantine applied to countries or regions are being used to limit the spread of the disease and the demand on the healthcare infrastructure. The seclusion of groups and individuals has led to limited access to accurate information. To update the public, especially in South Africa, announcements are made by the minister of health daily. These announcements narrate the confirmed COVID-19 cases and include the age, gender, and travel history of people who have tested positive for the disease. Additionally, the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases updates a daily infographic summarising the number of tests performed, confirmed cases, mortality rate, and the regions affected. However, the age of the patient and other nuanced data regarding the transmission is only shared in the daily announcements and not on the updated infographic. To disseminate this information, the Data Science for Social Impact research group at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, has worked on curating and applying publicly available data in a way that is computer-readable so that information can be shared to the public – using both a data repository and a dashboard. Through collaborative practices, a variety of challenges related to publicly available data in South Africa came to the fore. These include shortcomings in the accessibility, integrity, and data management practices between governmental departments and the South African public.

Biography: Vukosi Marivate is the ABSA UP Chair of Data Science at the University of Pretoria. Vukosi works on developing Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence methods to extract insights from data. A large part of his work over the last few years has been in the intersection of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. Vukosi is interested in Data Science for Social Impact, using local challenges as a springboard for research. In this area, Vukosi has worked on projects in science, energy, public safety and utilities. Vukosi is a founder of the Deep Learning Indaba, the largest Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence workshop on the African continent, aiming to strengthen African Machine Learning. Professional website http://www.vima.co.za.

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://ukzn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kE9q4WfGSYSGuRvq2F6w8w.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.