Covid-19 in Abu Dhabi an Update

“I thank the medical staff and the vaccinators…. I wish everyone safety.” - Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

There have been two large changes in the functionality of the Emirates in the UAE since my last post on the topic 6 months ago. The first being that upon the decision being made to reopen schools in August, the government body ADEK which is the Abu Dhabi Department of Knowledge along with the MOE the Ministry of Education, have implemented a mandatory Covid-19 PCR swab test for all staff in schools. The test is administered every two weeks. The working week in the UAE is Sunday to Thursday and at the end of the school day every second Thursday we get a PCR swab done in school. The result is returned to us within 48hrs and a negative result must be presented to management before anyone is allowed to return to work or enter campus on the Sunday morning. This is the same for all staff and students. The theatre in the school on Thursdays is turned into a medical testing facility and times for testing are staggered so there is no more than 15 people including nurses in the room at any one time. Precautions are still taken in school for students that are feeling unwell. We have a nursing department on campus and any student that feels sick or is presenting symptoms is sent to the nurse. If the nurse’s recommendation is to send the child home, the all students are removed from class. We also have a sanitization team on campus, this team is then brought in the spray the room and all surfaces with disinfectant before we are allowed to go back into the classroom. This happed in my class last week, the process takes 15/20 minutes.

The Emirati people have been exceptional in adhering to guidelines. Masks are mandatory here and you will not see anyone in public without one. It really is incredible to walk the street in 42-degree heat and everyone without question will be wearing a mask. You are not permitted into shops without a mask, all shopping centres and grocery stores check your temperature and offer both masks and gloves on entry. The border between Abu Dhabi is manned by the Abu Dhabi Police Department on a 24-hour basis. You cannot pass through unless you present an Emirates I.D and negative test result that is no older than 48 hours old. The collective effort to contain and manage the virus here has been incredible.

However, despite this, within our first 4 weeks on returning to school we had 4 teachers test positive for the virus. All teachers are in their mid-twenties and all 4 were hospitalized for 2 weeks. Routine tests were carried out on a Thursday evening and within 36 hours those 4 results returned positive and the school was shut for 2 weeks. After hospilisation all teacher’s ad to return 4 negative tests before being allowed return to work. All have now returned to work and we have not had any positive result since.

The second and probably more applicable to life in Ireland at the moment is that in September Abu Dhabi became the first country in the world to begin administering a vaccine to its residents. The COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm China National Biotec Group. It requires two doses delivered three weeks apart. The UAE kicked off Phase III trials for the vaccine in July. The vaccine has reportedly generated antibodies in volunteers during the first two trial phases in China. The volunteers received two doses about three weeks apart. Preliminary announcements about the Phase III trials in the UAE indicate that the vaccine is effective, and has not generated any major side effects, even in 1,000 people with chronic conditions. Before the UAE’s regulatory approval, 31,000 people in the country had volunteered for the vaccine trials. Following encouraging results, the vaccine was granted emergency approval in September for use on frontline workers.

On September 21, teachers of public schools in Abu Dhabi were given the option to register and get the Covid-19 vaccine. Principals received an official circular that confirmed the inclusion of teachers, administrative staff and their immediate family members in the priority categories. A part of the circular said: "The UAE has announced the emergency use of the vaccine for frontline workers who deal with Covid-19 patients, with the aim of safeguarding these heroes and protecting them from any dangers they may face due to the nature of their work.... Teachers and other academic staff have been included among the priority groups for getting the Covid-19 vaccine. This also includes their family members (first degree) who are aged above 18 years. Taking the Covid-19 vaccine is optional for those who are eligible." Volunteers were intensively monitored for approximately 35 days. Personally, I made the decision not to take the vaccine. I didn’t make the decision lightly as if you do take the vaccine there are also benefits that go along with it, such as crossing the border to Dubai. Showing proof that you have been administered the vaccine, mitigates you from having to take a Covid-19 test 48 hours prior to crossing and paying for the test each time, 370 dirhams which is equivalent to €90, my partner live in Dubai so this was a considerable perk. Despite this, I just felt it was too early. Yes, there were no short term effects, but what about the long term? We cannot tell, and having read extensively on the Thalidomide scandal of the in the 1950s and 1960s, I just felt that it was a more pragmatic decision to wait and instead be more cautious of my day to day behavior, rather than rely on a relatively unknown chemical.

Furthermore, after emergency approval was granted, UAE Minister of Health, Abdulrahman Al Owais, also received his first dose. On October 19th Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, is the latest UAE official to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Other UAE ministers who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine include Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA), and Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

Despite all the precautions and the excellent adherence to guidelines within school. It must be said that since the return of schools cases have gone up exponentially. In the Summer months, June, July and August the country was reporting between 200 and 400 cases daily. Since the return of schools this number has risen to over 1500 cases daily. On the 17th of October we had 1538 positive cases here and it’s been sometime since that figure was below 1000 cases. What the next step is, I do not know. Everything is open, we do not have a lockdown, curfew has been lifted and all business and schools are operating albeit with restrictions.

It is easy to dwell on the negatives in regard to the situation we have all been experiencing since our lives drastically changed in March. However, we do not have to look very far, to see the many positives. That is true for life here in the UAE as well as at home in Ireland. The adherence to guidelines here truly is remarkable, and the scale of effort in implementing government issues has been immense. The widespread availability of testing as well as a 48hr turnaround for results is incredible. The amount of test centres, as well as drive-through test centers here is astounding and the ability for management in my own school to turn out theatre into a medical facility every two weeks is a monumental task to complete once, not to mind twice a month. Bearing in mind the volume of staff. At home, the resilience of the Irish has been very apparent. The willingness to accept change and adapt by the majority is a wonderful sign of the good nature of the Irish people. The online fundraising campaigns for various different causes as well as people wanting to support local business in tough times rather than the bigger conglomerates is heartwarming. Even more recently with the flooding of Cork last week, the community effort by the Cork community to get involved and help out, at a time when the country has a Level 5 lockdown to contend with is truly beautiful. We’re all in this together. Ní neart go cur le chéile. Éire Abú.