University of Pretoria takes precautionary measures against spread of coronavirus
7 March 2020
The University of Pretoria (UP) will temporarily disable biometric access systems to stop any potential spread of the novel coronavirus, which has now infected two people in South Africa.
While the first positive case has been traced to a patient living in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, the university has already acted on the advice of medical experts.
A letter to staff and students confirms that UP is temporarily disabling biometric scanning.
"The process will take a few days to implement, and we're hoping to have the systems on all campuses disabled by the middle of next week. Staff and students are still required to use their valid access cards to scan in and out at all entrance gates," the letter read.