The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 ranges from an asymptomatic or mild flulike illness to a sever pneumonia requiring critical care. These guidelines describe the clinical management of COVID-19 disease, including clinical care in and outside of health care facilities, and are intended for both public and private sectors.

This version of the National Department of Health guidelines (Deptartment of Health (4) 18 May 2020.) provides updated and additional information on the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 patients, as well as management of specific groups, such as management of patients living with HIV, children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Please refer to the attachment and check the Department of Health website. 

http://www.health.gov.za/index.php/outbreaks/145-corona-virus-outbreak/465-corona-virus-outbreak 

will open on Monday 18 May 2020 and take place virtually, using video conference technology, and focus exclusively on the COVID-19 pandemic and those items considered essential for governance business continuity. Member States will then reconvene later in autumn 2020 to address the other agenda items as adopted by the Executive Board. 

There is currently a single draft Resolution on COVID-19 up for discussion at this year’s WHA. The initial draft was first proposed by the European Union, and it is the World Heart Federation's (WHF)understanding that one of its main drivers is to ensure that any population-wide vaccination against COVID-19 be secured as global public good for health. Following extensive outreach to and engagement with Member States, together with WHF partners in the NCD Alliance, the Union for International Cancer Control and other civil society organizations, WHF has helped ensure that NCDs and pre-existing conditions like CVD are prominently featured in the discourse around the global COVID-19 response. WHF will be making an official statement in response to the Resolution in partnership with the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health. 

We encourage you to join us in watching the live webcast of WHA73, available on the official website of the WHO at 12:00 CET on 18 May 2020. 

(Extract from WHF newsletter)

This year's Walk the Talk: The Health for All Challenge is going VIRTUAL! Join us on 16 and 17 May for two full days of exercise classes, cooking lessions, information sessions, live chats and more!

https://www.who.int/news-room/events/global-walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-2020 

It is with an extremely heavy heart that the SA Heart^® Board of directors has had to cancel the SA Heart 2020 Congress.

This unfortunate decision was not taken lightly but is necessary because of the global coronavirus pandemic and the enormous impact thereof. We find ourselves in unprecedented circumstances that are beyond our control. As a result, there is considerable uncertainty in the medium term.

As SA Heart^® President, I never would have envisioned that we would have been forced to take such a drastic step. I have always been hugely passionate about the meetings. It is a project that starts from nothing and ends as a fantastic scientific and educational event. We therefore were looking forward to a successful SA Heart 2020: “Back to Basics”.

We thank you for your support and interest over the past two decades. We hope and trust that we will be able to host a magnificent congress in 2021. Any further development in this regard will be communicated.

Warm regards,

David Jankelow

SA Heart President and Board Chairman

This issue is dedicated to “2019 – the year in review” highlighting different aspects of cardiovascular disease, insights and progresses made. The editor, Prof Ntobeko Ntusi reviews a number of papers published in the SA Heart Journal during that year in his editorial.

A review and summary of key publications related to preventative cardiology (Kausik K. Ray et al), heart failure (John G.F. Cleland et al), imaging (Dudley Pennell et al and valvular heart disease (Ronald K Binder, Marc Dweck and Bernard Prendergast)  ) are included in this issue.

The issue is also one of many editorials, with Prof Ntusi giving insight into Covid-19 and cardiovascular disease  and an obituary for Prof Lionel Opie. 

Dr Fenny Shidhika et al are giving an overview of cardiac catheterisation and surgery in Namibia. 

K. Koolash and E.GM. Hoosen report on The short and one-year outcome of transcatheter Patent Ductus Arteriosus closure at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa: A Descriptive retrospective chart review ; while F. Mpisane et al summarise Post cardiac surgery sternal wound sepsis burden, risk factors and outcomes at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa: A five-year experience 

This issue includes another ECG quiz to test your knowledge  (with answer) and an image in cardiology contribution where Philasande Mkoko and Blanche Cupido report on a case of Non-compliant left atrium masquerading as severe mitral regurgitation on cardiac catheterisation haemodynamics. 

As has become tradition, the journal also includes the SA Heart Newsletter with reports from our and other congresses as well as society, special interest group and other news and information on scholarships.

SA Heart Journal is now CPD accredited, the questionnaire for this issue (1 clinical point) has been loaded on the MPC Journal CPD platform  and is free to take for members. You can also access the questionnaire for the last issue of 2019 on this site (2 clinical points) which has unfortunately been unduly delayed for upload until now.

With great thanks to the Journal and newsletter editors Prof Ntusi and Dr Cupido as well as the production team at iDesign for providing another informative and professional issue, to Dr Derick van Vuuren for uploading the Journal to the website and the MPC group for facilitating the CPD CMEs.

We are delighted to have two prestigious Scientists present at our weekly (Zoom) Research meeting.
Prof Junbo Ge (China) and Assoc. Prof Friedrich Thienemann (Switzerland).
As both their presentations are extremely relevant in the present times that we find ourselves in, we would therefore like to invite you to join us
on Wednesday 29th April 2020 to learn more from both Prof Junbo Ge and Assoc. Prof Friedrich Thienemann. 

For a full programme and speaker biosketch, please consult the attachment. 

Refer to Prof Pravin Manga's update in the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2020, 2(SI) 25–28 http://dx.doi.org/10.18772/26180197.2020.v2nSIa4 

Robert T Saggers et al on recommendations an actions in a paper published in Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2020, 2(SI) 43–46 http://dx.doi.org/10.18772/26180197.2020.v2nSIa8 

The special issue on COVID 19 includes a host of papers and resources related to COVID-19 research, clinical practice and ethical considerations including case studies and recommendations in the South African context. 

Consult the issue here.  - you can download individual articles from the SABINET site. 

The SAMA Human Rights, Law and Ethics (HRLE) Committee has developed the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues.

 This is a detailed guideline, which highlights the duties and obligations of Doctors and provides ethical guidelines for Doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 To our knowledge this is one of the first guidelines of its kind in the world.

 Although this guideline largely provides ethical guidance for Doctors, the duties and obligations of government and society, in general, are also highlighted.

 The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues is available in two formats (refer attachments):

•         The full guideline with all the detail
•         An abridged version below, for ease of reading.

The abridged version should be read together with the full comprehensive guideline which will soon be made available under the SAMA Governance and Legal tab for all SAMA members, as well as on the SAMA COVID-19 main page.

 SAMA urges practitioners to consider the ethical concepts addressed by the guidance and implement practices recommended with regard to patient- and self-care.

Kind Regards

Dr Mark Human

Chair SAMA Human Rights Law and Ethics Committee

 The guidelines are also available on the SAMA COVID19 Webpage under "Doctor resources guidelines and protocols" or at https://www.samedical.org/files/covid19/doctor_resource/SAMA_Ethics%20Guidance%20_COVID-19%20Ethics_2020%207%20Apr.pdf 

Dr Mark Human

Chair SAMA Human Rights Law and Ethics Committee