Cecelia, 3, was infected with the coronavirus on March 24 but tested negative on April 1. Courtesy: Fernanda Troy
Cecelia, 3, was infected with the coronavirus on March 24 but tested negative on April 1. Courtesy: Fernanda Troy
Cecelia, 3, was infected with the coronavirus on March 24 but tested negative on April 1. Courtesy: Fernanda Troy
Cecelia, 3, was infected with the coronavirus on March 24 but tested negative on April 1. Courtesy: Fernanda Troy

Coronavirus: Dubai mother whose toddler caught Covid-19 warns - 'stop finding excuses to leave home'


Sarwat Nasir
  • English
  • Arabic

A Dubai mother whose three-year-old daughter caught coronavirus has warned parents to "stop finding excuses" to step out of the house.

Fernanda Troy and her family spent almost 10 days in hospital and quarantine accommodation after testing positive for Covid-19.

The 36-year-old does not know where she, her daughter Cecilia, or husband Ivan came into contact with the virus.

But she said too many parents appeared to be unnecessarily taking their children out with them.

"Stop visiting your friends, stop going out - and stop finding excuses to step out of the house," she told The National after getting the all-clear.

The lockdown will last forever if we don't cooperate with efforts to stop the contamination

"As much as you keep going out, we’ll have to stay in. The lockdown will last forever if we don't cooperate with UAE’s efforts to stop the contamination."

Ms Troy, who is from Brazil and works in Dubai as a project coordinator, was first to test positive on March 19. Her husband was confirmed to have Covid-19 on March 20, and then their daughter on March 24.

Ms Troy was already in “semi-quarantine” around the time she was tested, having stayed home for a full week when the school holidays were brought forward by a week.

Ms Troy said her symptoms - which vary significantly between patients, included loss of smell and taste.

Cecilia was asymptomatic and remained well throughout the family's ordeal.

“My husband’s oxygen saturation was low. He stayed in the hospital, receiving oxygen for five days,” she said.

“When the Dubai Health Authority called me to give me my daughter’s result I was already prepared for it, because I was positive before her and I started thinking of what to do.

“I was really afraid of losing my little girl."

Ms Troy praised the care she and her family were given, particularly a paediatrician who was in touch every day.

"She was supporting and reassuring us that everything would be alright and that my daughter has a very good health," she said.

Ms Troy urged families to stay indoors and self-isolate.

“It’s extremely necessary to stay home. We are surrounded by online shops that deliver to our doorstep – groceries, veggies and pharmacies,” she said.

“Parents staying home is a way to protect the kids. Going out is assuming the risk of getting infected and bringing the virus inside your home."

Ms Troy said she believed keeping a distance from her mother, who was staying with the family when they were diagnosed, may have saved her life.

“My mum is 59 and has been a smoker for the past 40 years; her lungs wouldn’t support it. [Social distancing] was the way we decided to protect her,” said Ms Troy.

Dr Nandu Thalange, a consultant paediatric endocrinologist at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, said “no one is immune” to the virus, although children do appear to develop only mild symptoms.

He said he was most concerned for the large population of people with diabetes, who must ensure their condition is kept well under control.

"Even if you end up in hospital, it’s usually due to complication from diabetes or diabetes ketoacidosis," he said, in reference to a condition that causes the blood to become acidic.

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Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Letstango.com

Started: June 2013

Founder: Alex Tchablakian

Based: Dubai

Industry: e-commerce

Initial investment: Dh10 million

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month

World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G

Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.

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Jetour T1 specs

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

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LA LIGA FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Valencia v Atletico Madrid (midnight)

Mallorca v Alaves (4pm)

Barcelona v Getafe (7pm)

Villarreal v Levante (9.30pm)

Sunday

Granada v Real Volladolid (midnight)

Sevilla v Espanyol (3pm)

Leganes v Real Betis (5pm)

Eibar v Real Sociedad (7pm)

Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (9.30pm)

Monday

Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (midnight)

The Disaster Artist

Director: James Franco

Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan

Four stars

Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE fixtures:
Men

Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final

Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

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FIXTURES (all times UAE)

Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)

Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The struggle is on for active managers

David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.

The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.

Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.

Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.

Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.

At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn. 

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Have you been targeted?

Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:

1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.

2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.

3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.

4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.

5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.

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