See first-hand how front liners in UAE deal with a pandemic
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00:00Hello everyone, this is Team Gulf News and we are here at the Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah
00:17to cover COVID-19 patients in isolation and ICU.
00:22Now why are we doing this?
00:24I think this is what I'd like to start off by saying.
00:28We are doing this just like many frontliners, this is our job.
00:32We are here to raise awareness, to tell you how things are working in the back end in
00:39this whole pandemic situation.
00:41And well, a lot of people did ask me yesterday as to, you know, am I risking my life by doing
00:50this?
00:51Well, to be honest, I don't think any of us have thought about that.
00:54We've only thought about it as a job in hand, and we're here to do it in the right and the
01:00safest way possible.
01:01So as you can see, we are all dressed up in the isolation kit.
01:06It's called a PPE, so we're fully covered.
01:09And this is also to let you know that we are bringing the news to you in the most responsible
01:14way.
01:24We're here at the isolation unit in Al Zahra Hospital.
01:41As you can see, we have also worn an extra gear, an extra apron as a protection because
01:47we are meeting patients who are recovering from COVID-19.
01:52I had a cough, fever, and diarrhea for quite a few days, and it was becoming worse.
02:02So first I went to the hospital for a test, but before the result could come, the diarrhea
02:09was too much.
02:10So I came and got admitted here in this hospital.
02:13It was last week, Monday, I think it was on 20th, and it was in the evening I was admitted
02:20and almost 10 days.
02:22Now I feel alright, like, I'm waiting for the results because till the last swab we
02:27just took last week, it was still showing positive, and yesterday we are still waiting
02:32for it to be negative.
02:33I'm praying for that.
02:34And I feel I'm alright now, only weakness is there because I had a lot of diarrhea and
02:42could not eat.
02:43There was no taste for me to eat the food.
02:46There is a mild problem with my respiratory system and breathing, you know, that sometimes
02:51one has to miss one beat of breathing, otherwise it wasn't very serious.
02:55But it was mostly with my diarrhea, fever, cough.
03:00In the past I suffered constantly with malaria when I was in Africa, and comparing this sickness
03:06and that sickness is totally different because there was a lot of fear with this, because
03:10you do not know.
03:11Though the death rate is 3%, but still the fear is there.
03:15What is going to happen?
03:16Am I going to recover?
03:18There is no sure treatment for this, you know.
03:22So that is the issue.
03:23And then thinking of the future, now only the worry is that, see, it is not sure that
03:28because I'm cured today, going back, that I'm free from this disease.
03:32It can come back because there are many people around those who are infected with this disease
03:38and they're carrying it and they're not even aware of it.
03:41So the disease can come back again.
03:43I had a lot of fear when I came to the hospital because this particular disease is contagious.
03:50And therefore I had the fear that whether the doctors will, and the medical staff will
03:55treat us properly, because they also have a lot of fear.
03:57They've got family, they also have got their dear life.
04:01But here the situation is totally different.
04:03They are, you know, just giving extra care, like, and they never make a show or anywhere.
04:09You know, they're just treating like any other patient.
04:13Every moment, every staff, doctors, nurses, the housekeeping, those are bringing food
04:19and everybody is so meticulous in caring for the patient, providing every need.
04:26I experienced only good things here.
04:28And that is what made me to recover so fast.
04:32And everybody gives a positive push.
04:33Doctor comes and says every day, oh, you are showing good signs.
04:37Nurses come and say, father, your report will be negative.
04:40And it came positive, it is positive.
04:42It's okay, father, but you'll be all right.
04:44So you know, there is a positive push.
04:46So don't worry, you'll be all right, you'll be all right.
04:49But I had more concern for them because, you see, I will come here, I'm treated, I may
04:54go back now, okay.
04:55But they have to continue working with the patients and they have got their family.
05:00So that is what our concern is.
05:01It is not that I neglect myself, I have to think of other people, and especially these
05:06medical persons, because they have got their family, we have to think of them.
05:10So that all of us, if we take care in working together in eradicating this disease, so we
05:17are doing good for the society.
05:19Any fear that COVID is going to die, no, it is not like that.
05:24But we have the fear because there is no precise medicine.
05:27I think maybe that is the fear that we have, but it is not that sentence.
05:31Don't, all of us have to take care, that is the first thing.
05:37Suppose there are any symptoms, immediately take the medical assistance.
05:41Don't allow it to linger because don't neglect it.
05:44Because once it reaches beyond the control, then nothing can be done.
05:48And it is only those who have got a lot of complications with the heart issues, liver
05:52issues and all that.
05:54For them it is a bit difficult to come back.
05:56But generally, even people with difficulties, they recover.
06:01We hardly have any death instances here, but most of the people are recovering.
06:08So nothing to fear, don't get into panic.
06:13This is Welfredo, Welfredo came to us three weeks back with severe breathing difficulty.
06:36He was on ventilator for more than two weeks.
06:41The day before yesterday he was extubated, he improved a lot, the treatment was perfect
06:45for him.
06:46And he is doing now well, I think today or tomorrow we will shift him to a normal room
06:51and in a few days he can go at home.
06:53So how do you feel Welfredo?
06:55Getting better every day doctor.
06:57Do you remember the time when you were here on ventilator?
07:01You were suffering, were you awake in between?
07:04I didn't know it was 20 days, I thought it was only one day.
07:09The doctor told me, Mr. Welfredo, you were awake, how are you?
07:14I said, I am better now doctor.
07:16Then he asked me, do you know how many days you were asleep?
07:2020 days.
07:21What?
07:22So we are all happy that you have survived such a critical condition.
07:28I thank personally the Alzheimer's Hospital Sriracha and Dr. Sriracha and the rest of
07:35the doctors and all the ICU nurses.
07:38They are the best nurses.
07:40Thank you very much.
07:41We wish you all the best.
07:42Because of them I am here now.
07:44The first symptoms was like just a regular flu.
07:48I have coughing and fever and body weakness.
07:53March 27th I was sick, March 29th I came here for the checkup.
07:58So everybody thinks, I thought it's only a normal flu.
08:03Then after two days, after taking the medicine, the sickness improved, it got worse.
08:09So I went back here, I told them that I have difficulty breathing and coughing is more
08:17severe and I am always with fever.
08:21Then that time, March 31st, the doctor told me to stay in the hospital.
08:28Then that's it.
08:30Then every day, every day, my coughing is very difficult.
08:36I need oxygen, even going to the bathroom.
08:39I need oxygen.
08:41And then on the fourth day, I cannot do it anymore.
08:45So the doctor decided to put me in the ICU.
08:50I want to give message for the other patients of COVID that praying to God is the number
08:58one key for surviving and second is going to the best hospital here in the world.
09:06And the best nurses, best ICU nurses, best doctors, and all of those, and the power of
09:16God, you will be cured.
09:18The whole story started a few months ago.
09:21We had no patients in the whole hospital and then it started with the patient number one.
09:29We received the first patient.
09:31Of course, everybody panicked in our hospital.
09:34They didn't know how to do, how to deal, how to treat this patient.
09:39So the patient was very critical.
09:42We put him on a ventilator.
09:44We shifted him to our ICU and we started treating him.
09:48A few days later, patients started coming.
09:52One floor was full.
09:54Then we arranged for a second floor.
09:56Now we have a whole building full with coronavirus patients.
10:01All in different situations.
10:03We have patients with no symptoms, zero symptoms, but they are tested positive.
10:07And we have critically ill patients in the ICU.
10:12The problem is this virus is deadly.
10:16Why?
10:17Why is everybody scared of this virus?
10:19Because it spreads very rapidly.
10:22It spreads rapidly among the community that we do not have enough space in the hospitals
10:28to serve them.
10:30The ICUs are full.
10:32Ventilators are occupied.
10:34At the moment, we have patients in our emergency room on a ventilator waiting for an ICU bed
10:40to get free, to be shifted up.
10:45We hope we will survive all this in the next few months.
10:49Now back to the main story.
10:51Coronavirus is a normal flu virus.
10:54The only problem is it spreads rapidly.
10:57Makes a lot of people sick at the same time.
11:00Medical resources are exhausted.
11:03Medical staff are tired.
11:05We are all scared.
11:07But we are holding the position.
11:11Recommendations of the Ministry of Health,
11:13the support of the Ministry of Health in the country
11:17is so great that we are accommodating the maximum possible number of patients.
11:23At the moment in our hospital, 80 patients.
11:25Eight of them very critical in the ICU.
11:27Today, we extubated also two patients in our ICU.
11:30That means they recovered after two weeks of ventilation.
11:33So this means there is a big chance to survive the pandemic with the virus corona.
11:39It's not a big deal.
11:41How to know if you have a virus, coronavirus?
11:46So coronavirus is a normal, as I said, flu virus.
11:49You will have fever.
11:51You will have maybe cough.
11:53Maybe not.
11:55Some pain in your throat.
11:57Some sore there.
11:59Cough.
12:01Breathing difficulty.
12:02So the problem is the exposure to the virus.
12:07If you are exposed to a huge amount of viruses at the same time,
12:13you will be having severe symptoms.
12:18If you are exposed to less numbers of viruses,
12:21you will have less symptoms.
12:24Now we have patients with symptoms from nothing,
12:27not even a headache,
12:29headache to breathing difficulty,
12:31where the patient is really suffering and cannot breathe.
12:34So the symptoms variation is huge.
12:38The problem is these symptoms can come with thousands of other diseases.
12:44So medical staff is stuck.
12:47Once a patient comes to the hospital,
12:49is it coronavirus?
12:51Is it a normal flu virus?
12:53Or is it something else?
12:54Maybe he has asthma.
12:55Maybe he has something else.
12:56We don't know.
12:57So this puts the medical staff under huge trouble
13:01where they need to investigate in a short period of time,
13:05isolate the patients immediately,
13:07and start to treat them.
13:10This makes a huge difference in the results.
13:13So we need to start treating the patients as early as possible.
13:16As you see, I'm not wearing gloves.
13:18I'm not wearing a gown.
13:20I'm just wearing my N95 mask.
13:23The problem is we need to protect ourselves.
13:27I agree.
13:28The virus comes through the respiratory tract.
13:31I have to inhale the virus in my lungs,
13:33so I get sick.
13:34So the most important thing,
13:36I have to breathe my airway with a mask.
13:41Now the virus can come to my gown,
13:44to my hands,
13:45to everything.
13:46Every time I come inside this ICU,
13:49I wash my hands nicely.
13:51I disinfect my hands.
13:52I use sanitizer.
13:53I change my gloves,
13:55and I am fine.
13:57There is no reason to panic.
14:00Our hospital staff is really so brave.
14:03I cannot stop appreciating them every day.
14:06I am so thankful for all our nurses,
14:08doctors,
14:09administration even.
14:11We are all trying to help the patients in this crisis.
14:16It's been over three months
14:18since the first COVID patient was announced in the UAE.
14:21Today we have over 11,000 cases.
14:24Dealing with such a pandemic situation
14:27are healthcare professionals,
14:29and we have seen it today,
14:31first hand at Gulf News,
14:33how it is all done.
14:35The frontliners are braving it all,
14:38risking their lives just to save the lives of others.
14:41And today was indeed a special day
14:44for the entire team of Gulf News here
14:46recording this whole event.
14:49We hope you enjoyed it as well.
14:50One of the key messages I think that we got
14:53was that having COVID
14:56does not mean a death sentence.
14:59So have no fear,
15:01but at the same time,
15:02take the necessary precautions
15:04because it is essential
15:06to be responsible
15:08not just for your life,
15:09but the lives of others as well.
15:11This is team Gulf News.
15:13Stay safe.
15:14Stay home.
15:20Stay safe.
15:21Stay home.