A nurse who contracted Covid-19 while pregnant has given birth to a healthy baby girl.
Ruth Deva Kiruba welcomed her second child on July 29, three months after she tested positive for coronavirus while 26 weeks into her pregnancy.
The staff nurse, who works for NMC Royal Hospital in Dubai, spent 12 days in hospital and 30 days in self isolation after coming down with a number of symptoms, including difficulty breathing.
The 32-year-old said it was “surreal being pregnant during a pandemic”, but was never concerned for the health of her unborn child.
“I guess because I was working in a hospital and seeing first-hand how more patients were recovering from the virus than succumbing to it, I just wasn’t afraid,” Ms Kiruba said.
I saw many people get covid, beat covid, then return to full health, which helped keep me in a good mindset throughout
“I saw many people get covid, beat covid, then return to full health, which helped keep me in a good mindset throughout.
“As healthcare workers we are not meant to be afraid, we stay strong for our patients and that was the attitude of all my co-workers.”
From diagnosis to recovery, Ms Kiruba spent more than 42 days away from loved ones, including her two-year-old daughter.
The mother-of-two, from India, said she was still not sure how she was exposed to the virus.
At the peak of the crisis, NMC Royal had 50 patients occupying beds on a special Covid ward.
“I wasn’t working directly with infected patients so was shocked when I got that positive result on April 28,” she said.
“I was super cautious at work and I was a hand sanitiser maniac, to the point where my hands were so dry from constantly washing and sanitising them.”
Between April and June, Ms Kiruba, who has lived in Dubai for two years, took 10 Covid-19 tests, all of which came back positive.
On June 13, she finally received the news she was waiting for; a negative result which meant she could return to work.
“I started to get a little concerned when I kept getting positive test results,” she said.
“But my obstetrician told me the virus would not harm my baby and that she was doing really well, so that was some comfort at least.
“When I got that final negative result, I went back to work straight away, the next day in fact.
“My two-year-old daughter was staying with friends for about a month when I was isolating at home and that was quite tough, I was glad to get back to some form of reality.”
After pacing the wards at work for another six weeks, a heavily pregnant Ms Kiruba finally went on maternity leave on July 28. She gave birth to her second daughter just one day later.
"I was thrilled when I gave birth and am so grateful that my baby is healthy and happy, it's a relief," she said.
"My baby hasn't been discharged yet, hopefully we can take her home soon and be together as a family of four again.
"It's great to finally meet her and hold her after all this.
"I will take about two months off before I head back to work again."
While it has been a very different pregnancy experience, self-isolation being the worst part, she said it’s a story she can tell her daughter in years to come.
Last month, doctors in France described what they said was the first confirmed case of a newborn infected in the womb with Covid-19 by the mother.
The baby boy, born in March, suffered brain swelling and neurological symptoms linked to Covid-19 in adults, but later recovered.
As part of research published in the medical journal, Nature Communications, they "transmission from the mother to the foetus across the placenta is possible during the last weeks of pregnancy".
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Pathaan
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Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
