Twelve months after the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic over the spread of Covid-19, a Sharjah resident reveals the physical and mental toll of twice testing positive for Covid-19 in the space of nine months.
Thanseem Parambil, 28, was admitted to Medcare Hospital in Sharjah on February 24 this year, two days after testing positive for Covid-19.
He initially managed the fever at home, in an apartment he shares with friends.
But his temperature started to rise and, reeling with acute body pain, he returned to the hospital's emergency department, where he nearly collapsed and required an intravenous drip.
It came as a shock to Mr Parambil, who previously tested positive for the coronavirus in May last year. He is, however, one of an increasing number of patients in the UAE who are catching Covid-19 for a second time, almost a year after they first caught the virus.
The men are upset because they are under the impression they had lifetime immunity
Cases of reinfection are infrequent, doctors say. The symptoms vary from mild to moderate, and are usually handled with isolation and antibiotics, but some patients require hospital treatment.
Dr Sanjay Paithankar, head of the Right Health group, which has 58 clinics in the UAE, said they treat "fewer than 100 patients a week" who have been reinfected with the coronavirus.
They counsel troubled patients and talk to company representatives, who are baffled when told their workers need to be kept in isolation again, having already once recovered from the virus.
Medics are spreading the message that catching Covid-19 does not created a lifetime of immunity and that everyone should continue to take safety precautions.
The World Health Organisation said that although it is rare, research shows that people who were once infected with coronavirus could be infected again when their antibody response wanes.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said based on its experience with other viruses, Covid-19 reinfections were expected.
‘I could not stand, could not walk’
Mr Parambil said the effect was very different the second time around. He experienced mild body aches and recovered from the disease last year after spending a week in quarantine in a hotel.
The Sharjah resident said he feels drained and weakened by the illness this time.
Doctors found bronchial pneumonia patches on his lungs, and administered steroids, anti-inflammation drugs and a blood thinner to control the infection.
"I could not stand, could not walk. I felt dizzy when I stood up. It was horrible because for three days I could not sleep [because of] heavy body pain," said Mr Parambil, who works as a cashier in the same hospital.
“I’m better now but I still feel tired. I was really very upset to get Covid again; this time it was very hard.”
He has a persistent cough that doctors said will ease over time.
He was discharged after a week in hospital and resumed work on Monday after two negative tests.
People must take this seriously because the second wave is very strong and people need to be more careful now
Mr Parambil was scheduled to take his second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine on the day he was admitted to hospital and will reschedule the dose when he recovers.
He has a safety message that he repeats to anyone he meets.
“People must take this seriously because the second wave is very strong and people need to be more careful now,” he said.
“Some people are still not taking care. I never thought this disease could happen to me twice.”
Dr Rehab Ahmed, a specialist in internal medicine at Medcare Hospital in Sharjah, said this was the first case of reinfection she had treated.
She urged patients not to ignore symptoms.
"Viral infections, especially in Covid, cause inflammation. We start antivirals to stop a cytokine storm. In moderate to severe cases, we give corticosteroids and an anti-coagulant to prevent any deterioration further," she said
“But bronchial pneumonia requires time to fade out, although the infection is treated, bronchial spasms and the residual cough will take some time.”
No lifetime immunity to Covid-19
Dr Sanjay Paithankar, who runs 58 low-cost medical facilities across the country, said his doctors are seeing fewer than 100 mild to moderate cases of reinfection a week.
"The symptoms are of longer duration. Last year, we had a lot of people with throat pain, cough, cold and fever who would be OK in three or four days with basic medicines," said Dr Paithankar, head of the Right Health group.
"Now patients are reporting to the clinics with a history of more than two weeks of cough, cold and mild fever. Severe tiredness is an added, new thing, [with] severe muscle, joint pain of a longer duration.
“But the number of reinfections is small; it is fewer than 100 a week across all clinics.”
The men test positive about nine months to a year after they first contracted the virus.
The clinics are within walking distance of labour accommodation and treat 2,500 workers daily.
“The men are upset because they are under the impression they had lifetime immunity,” Dr Paithankar said.
“We have to tell them that a one-time Covid infection does not guarantee you will not be Covid positive the second time.”
In most cases, people were reinfected after the first dose of Sinopharm.
There were fewer cases of reinfection and much milder symptoms after the second vaccination dose, Dr Paithankar said.
The men are administered antibiotics and paracetamol and told to stay in rooms specially designated for quarantine in the labour accommodation buildings.
Dr Paithankar said the workers, who are largely healthy, are recovering quickly.
“The previous exposure to Covid helps your body’s defence mechanism understand there is infection, and it develops antibodies, or soldiers, to protect them,” he said. “The soldiers are ready this time because the enemy is known.”
Medical experts advise everyone to continue to avoid crowded places, socially distance and wear masks.
“All people – those who had Covid, those who took the vaccines and those who have not had Covid – everyone should know that Covid is a part and parcel of your lifestyle,” Dr Paithankar said.
Citizens socially distance in the UAE
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
IPL 2018 FINAL
Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
Chennai Super Kings 181-2 (18.3 ovs)
Chennai win by eight wickets
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
The years Ramadan fell in May
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
UAE%20SQUAD
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The five pillars of Islam
Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 592bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Price: Dh980,000
On sale: now
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
