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Coronavirus in UAE: All your health questions answered

coronavirus, covid-19, dubai health authority, dubai media office, sanitisation

Dubai - What should someone do if they test positive but show no symptoms?

  • Staff Reporter
  • Updated: Mon 30 Mar 2020, 12:59 PM

#AskDXBdoctor is a social media initiative launched by the Dubai Media Office in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Mohammed bin Rashid University. Residents can pose their questions using the hashtag and a team of experts will answer them. The session on Sunday was addressed by Dr Hend Al Awadhi, Head of Health Promotion and Education Section at the DHA.

Q: Do Dubai hospitals have enough capacity for Covid-19 patients?
A: All the health authorities in the UAE are fully prepared and have enough capacity to control the current situation. Also they are doing multiple scenarios for the coming period.

Q: What tracing do you do with positive Covid-19 cases?
A: All the positive cases of Covid-19 are being investigated to get the list of their contacts to be traced and tested and advised to practise home quarantine.

Q: Why is staying at home important and why I can't go about my life like usual with precautions?
A: The best thing one can do currently is to stay at home and not go out unless for urgent matters. In that way, one can help protect the community.

Q: Can people who test positive for the virus but are asymptomatic self-quarantine at home?
A: Family members can practise home quarantine together but if one of them develops symptoms and tests positive for Covid-19, then he should be isolated and separated from the others.

Q: How do you ensure the safety of the medical community? How do you ensure that the virus does not spread to their homes?
A: My advice to the doctors in the field is to adhere to precautionary measures while on the job. When they return home, they should sterilise the clothes they wore at work. They should also sterilise their shoes. They should wash their hands immediately after getting back home.

Q: Can eating food from one plate with hands spread the virus?
A: For the time being, we encourage you to eat from separate plates.

Q: Does Dubai benefit from the services of doctors from the private sector or volunteers currently?
A: There is certainly cooperation between the private and the public sectors. We are all working together. We take this opportunity to thank all volunteers, contributors and the private medical sector.

Q: Why do we see a large disparity among countries in the scale of the virus spread?
A: The rate of the virus spread varies from one country to another. It depends directly on the rate of mixing with other people of the community. That is why we highlight and reiterate the need to adhere to the #StayHome rule and not to go out unless for urgent reasons.


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