Estelle Coustas

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@Bhekisisa_MG Couldn’t agree more - the best Nursing Council Registrar I have ever worked with…

[Brent Lindeque @BrentLindeque]

To the small island who once ruled the world… come the men who do.

24 years ago, Nike released this advert. It’s trending on social media again. I watched it this morning and it made me cry.

I bumped into a neighbour yesterday who has lived in South Africa for 5 years and we were talking about the upcoming game. She’s heading down to our Clubhouse to watch it… as most of us are. And she was telling me how excited she is for South Africa. She’s originally from America but will be wearing her Green and Gold tonight.

We started talking about the heart of rugby in our country.

You see, the Bokke don’t just play a sport, they play with everything they have. They play for every single South African. They play to remind us who we are. And they play to show us who we can be.

My neighbour said, “There is no other nation that does that. It’s so beautiful.”

She ignited a core memory in me.

It was 1995. The Rugby World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in South Africa following the end of apartheid. We were the hosts. It was also the first World Cup in which we were allowed to compete.

I was sitting on the floor with my brother and sister watching. My folks were on the couch. There was this intense feeling of trepidation. We needed to win. Our country needed to win.

“But how do you remember that? You must have been so young?” My neighbour asked.

Because it was the first time we felt like one nation. Undivided. It was the first time our country was standing behind a new president and a new flag - together. Nelson Mandela made us believe that we were the rainbow nation. He gave us hope that as a country, we could become more than what we were before. We could rewrite our history.

When that last whistle blew our entire team dropped to their knees crying, the crowd flying the new South African flags higher than high and then Nelson Mandela made his way to the pitch to meet Francois Pienaar.

Something was ignited in us all.

The spirit and heart of how rugby brings South Africans together.

So ja, our team don’t just play a sport. They play with everything they have. They play for every single South African. They play to remind us who we are. And they play to show us who we can be.

Win or lose, they play to bring us together.

To the Bokke today, noma ngabe kwenzekani namuhla, iNingizimu Afrika iyaziqhenya ngani. Ngiyabonga Bokke!

Searching for the best in me, I will fight for what I can be. If I win, lose or draw, there's a winner in us all! It's the world in union. The world as one. As we climb to reach our destiny. A new age has begun.

For South Africa!

Okay. Love you.

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@JJ_Stellies Congratulations, Prof, an honour so well deserved

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@ProfAbdoolKarim @USAmbPEPFAR @JeremyFarrar @PanMacmillanSA @CAPRISAOfficial One of our greatest voices of reason during the pandemic - Congratulations, Prof

[Nikki Siapno @NikkiSiapno]

No one wants to admit it, but we've all felt like a fraud at some point in our lives.

This visual guide will help you overcome imposter syndrome:

[Ridhwaan Suliman @rid1tweets]

The cat's out the bag! Months in the making, excited to formally get this collaboration going with the SIU @RSASIU @CSIR 🤝
Watch this space 🇿🇦

[Prof Thuli Madonsela #KindnessBuilds @ThuliMadonsela3]

Thank you ⁦@dailymaverick⁩ for the #StateCapture infographic summarising the 5,437 pages #StateCaptureReport. The one key missing piece is the attempted hijacking of ⁦the ⁦@TreasuryRSA⁩

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@BirenValodia Critical whether professional or personal

[Biren Valodia @BirenValodia]

Brilliant! By Simon Sinek

[Bob Wachter @Bob_Wachter]

Some folks are a bit confused about why things are likely to be much safer in a month than now – not why virus will peak & fall (we don’t entirely know) but why the risk to individuals will plummet – & with that, why activities that are unsafe now will be much safer then.(1/20🧵)

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@ashishkjha Thank you for providing the context - unfortunately the surge in patients with Covid clouds the comparison with other waves but we remain grateful for a lighter variant

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@misael_pandawto @rid1tweets Hospitalisation & Deaths with Omicron, not from Omicron, add a different layer of complexity compared with previous waves

[Ridhwaan Suliman @rid1tweets]

Here's a weekly summary of #COVID19 in South Africa 🇿🇦, with week-on-week % changes:

Cases and test positivity declining, hospitalistions slowing

• Cases -19%
• Tests -13%
• Test positivity at 29.0%
• Hospitalisations +12%
• Deaths +87%

#Omicron #OmicronVariant #4thwave

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@ShabirMadh Thanks for your continued hard work and influencing at the highest levels, Prof

[Ridhwaan Suliman @rid1tweets]

Nationally, South Africa 🇿🇦 has also passed the peak of its #Omicron driven #4thWave 👏🏽

A steeper wave but significantly shorter; about half the number of days to reach the peak compared with previous waves in South Africa

#COVID19 #OmicronVariant

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

I rest my case

[Jackie Hoare @JackieHoare3]

Emotional skills #clinical #medicine it is connecting with our patients’ experiences that improves our clinical care @SusanDavid_PhD absolutely agree “can we stop calling them soft skills already?” #CL_Psychiatry @UCTHealthSci

[Prof. Mosa Moshabela @MoshabelaMosa]

It was never a battle between the pro-vax and the anti-vax.
It was always a battle between Everyone and Covid-19.
It's up to you how you contribute to the solution.✌🏿

[Estelle Coustas @jordaae]

@YolandaWalsh Despite what we are seeing in terms of illness severity in our country, would postpone until you feel safe to expose your family

[Shabir Madhi @ShabirMadh]

10. Gvt response correctly remains measured by not increasing restrictions and not panicking with increase in cases, but seem to rather focussing on COVID ( excluding coincidental Ix) hospitalisation and health facility capacity. 11. Lastly, vaccine coverage still lagging.

[Shabir Madhi @ShabirMadh]

9. IF downturn in infection rate and no massive surge in hospitalisation and death in the next 2-3 weeks, may well mark turning point in pandemic, particularly since SA not boosting to prevent infection and mild illness like HIC are doing (at cost exacerbating vaccine inequity)