Fieldworker filling in HSRC online questionnaire for participant being interviewed on the phone.

Harnessing the power of our existing infrastructure and experience in telephonic surveillance, a study was completed with over 1300 participants randomly selected from our existing HDSS database, and sought to investigate awareness of COVID-19 symptoms and preventive measures, as well as the impact of South Africa’s national lockdown. The data contributed to a national study .The SAPRIN nodes, including the Atgincourt HDSS, were approached when the HSRC realised that rural people were not answering their online questionnaire, hence rural voices were missing.