Hospitals in Abu Dhabi are working to protect their staff after hundreds were believed to have contracted Covid-19 from each other.
Medical staff around the world wear personal protection equipment to shield themselves from being infected by patients but the masks, gowns and gloves also keep them safe from contracting the virus from each other.
Globally, staff are at greatest risk of contracting the virus. At the height of Italy's outbreak, thousands of medical staff became infected with Covid-19 while more than 100 of the 31,000 people who died in the country were healthcare workers. In the UK, testing has suggested that up to 3 per cent of all National Health Service hospital staff may be unknowingly infected with coronavirus.
The rate of coronavirus infection among the 18,000 staff working at all hospitals managed by Abu Dhabi Healthcare Services (Seha) is between two to four per cent, Anwar Salam, Seha's chief operating officer told The National.
I am protected around [the patients] and wear protective equipment but I was not protected around my colleague
He said this was lower than the international rate of infection within staff – about 10 per cent – but that safety measures have been introduced at Seha facilities to bring it down further.
These precautionary measures include changing scrubs as soon as staff enter and leave the hospital; frequently changing PPE, which is worn over the scrubs; and wearing masks at all times while at work.
“Body temperatures are taken twice a day. Staff are always in surgical masks even when speaking to each other and we maintain social distancing,” said Dr Mohamed Ismail, chair of the Medical Institute at one of Seha's hospitals.
“All desks, computers and chairs are wiped down with antibacterial solution before use and we maintain the highest standards of personal hygiene with staff sanitising their hands before they use anything or have any contact with someone else,” he said.
These measures apply to all staff who not dealing directly with patients. Those who do, have more intensive precautions in place including increased layers of PPE such as a face shield and hazmat suit.
“It resembles a space suit with complete gear that isolates you completely from the environment,” said Dr Ismail. The majority of staff who do not treat Covid-19 patients, including administrative staff and cleaners, must wear N95 masks, face shields or goggles and gloves at all times. “Our rates are lower than the rest of world because we have had all this protective gear made available to us," said Dr Ismail.
One nurse, who contracted Covid-19 from a colleague, said it was vital that medical staff are protecting themselves from each other too.
Biji Beji, 42, who works at a Seha hospital became infected with the virus on April 2. She went on to pass the coronavirus to her husband and one of her two children. "I got it from a colleague and not from the patients," she told The National.
Her colleague had tested positive for the virus a day before she was tested.
“I am protected around [the patients] and wear protective equipment but I was not protected around my colleague,” she said. Ms Beji, her husband and daughter, from India, were placed in quarantine in a government hospital to avoid spreading the virus to her 13-year-old son.
“I was very upset that day. I was shocked for some time,” she said.
The family were fortunate not to have any major symptoms. Her husband and daughter were completely asymptomatic while Ms Beji only temporarily lost her sense of taste and smell. They were kept together in a family room for 20 days until they each received two consecutive negative tests and could be released.
“We were relaxed because we were all in the same room.
“Suddenly I felt that Jesus helped me and the hospital supported me," she said. They returned home in the last week of April and Ms Beji has since returned to work.
Medical and nursing staff at government hospitals use personal protective gear according to guidelines issued by Department of Health and Seha, which match up with international recommendations.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
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%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
SPEC%20SHEET
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More from UAE Human Development Report:
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2 (Heaton (og) 42', Lindelof 64')
Aston Villa 2 (Grealish 11', Mings 66')
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
more from Janine di Giovanni
Quick%20facts
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
