Dubai’s frontline workers display courage and dedication in the face of COVID-19 crisis

Yousra Zaki, Assistant Editor | Features

Suchitra Chaudhary | Chief Reporter

Breathless and wracked by body pain, some COVID patients battle high fever. Such severe coronavirus infection requires hospital admission for assisted breathing. That’s because COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease, and the lungs could be affected by SARS-CoV-2.

Treating a COVID patient isn’t easy. A COVID patient is a virus carrier, so a doctor or a nurse could easily contract the disease that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of healthcare workers worldwide.

Healthcare workers are vulnerable. It takes courage and conviction to help patients battle a virulent pathogen.

An emergency medicine specialist at the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Dr Mariam Taresh Al Mansouri serves in the frontline of the war on COVID. “I had fears and anxiety about how to deal with COVID-19 patients,” Dr Mariam said, recalling the early days in 2020 when the coronavirus wreaked havoc.

“I kept remembering the medical oath [Hippocrates oath] I took, I swore before God to serve and protect the lives of patients in all circumstances,” Dr Mariam said, explaining what strove her to work tirelessly to treat COVID patients.

Dr Mariam was one of the healthcare workers who fought to save the COVID-stricken in the UAE. Thousands of doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics, diagnostic technicians and ward boys from different countries worked tirelessly in hospitals and clinics across Dubai. They came together with the sole purpose of saving precious lives in the UAE during the pandemic.

Heroes they are. Many lost their lives, but that didn’t deter the others.

In the UAE, local and expatriate healthcare workers in public and private hospitals worked 12 to 14-hour shifts wearing personal protection equipment (PPE), layers of masks and gloves. They worked without complaints, disregarding the virus threat to their own lives and that of their families. Many doctors and nurses in COVID-19 ICUs lived alone in hotels near hospitals, unable to go home for months.

DCAS was in a state of complete preparedness

At the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Service (DCAS), national paramedics, doctors and nurses were literally on the frontline, attending COVID-stricken patients at their homes. They were fearless and forsook their safety to honour the medical oath.

Dr Mariam was one of them. The emergency medicine specialist said the DCAS staff persevered despite the fears of transmission and infections. “A doctor’s job is a humanitarian role, and I saw my duty as an opportunity to serve my county,” she said.

The DCAS was very proactive and provided PPE to the staff to protect themselves. “We felt reassured, and DCAS inspired us to soldier on,” Dr Mariam said.

Serving humanity was a priority

Thousands of paramedics who were the first responders to COVID calls reached out to people who cried for help. Whenever the call came, DCAS paramedics rushed to them. Their job was to examine the patient, assess the severity of infection - mild and moderate to severe and critical.

The mild cases could either self-isolate at home or be taken to isolation centres of the Dubai government. The moderate cases were admitted at field hospitals; the severe and critical ones had to be moved to the nearest COVID-19 wards in public or private hospitals.

Mahmoud Eid Hassan, a technical worker at the Emergency section of DCAS, told Gulf News, “I did not think of my work as a job but a service to humanity. In times like these, it was the only way to deal with the crisis.”

Doctors, nurses and paramedics performed admirably in such stressful times. It brought immense relief to residents and earned the appreciation of the Dubai and UAE governments.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: “During this crisis, the UAE has shown to the world it is a single cohesive team, one family moving in unison to overcome the exceptional circumstances we are currently facing.”

The country and the people were united in their gratitude to the frontline warriors. The UAE government established the Frontline Worker Office, extending scholarships to the children of these workers; the Dubai government and Brand Dubai team launched a spectacular drone display of “Thank You Heroes”. More than 120 drones and 100 vehicles were used to create the displays in a video. With a mix of motivational and awareness messages, the video reminded people of the unstinting efforts of healthcare workers in overcoming the pandemic.

Messages in the video posted by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, on his Instagram account expressed appreciation for the exceptional efforts of the frontline workers. They reminded everyone about the shared responsibility in the community.

The Dubai government provided long-term Golden Visas to doctors, acknowledging their stellar work over the last one-and-a-half years. The healthcare army of men and women stood together as Team Dubai.

These are extraordinary times. Times that test the resolve of the best. And Dubai and the UAE showed the strength and resilience over the adversity wrought by COVID-19.