'We are honoured': UAE frontline heroes on care programme for 80,000


Sarwat Nasir
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Frontline workers who have battled the coronavirus pandemic spoke of their pride on Tuesday, after being selected for a network that will offer support, financial benefits and recognition.

A care programme was set out on Monday, which includes a registry of more than 80,000 professionals deemed essential in the fight against Covid-19.

The list includes healthcare practitioners, cleaners, nurses, police, essential service providers, volunteers, sanitation personnel, among others.

Nurse Jessica Bonacua was seconded to Sharjah's field hospital in the Expo Centre. She worked 12-hour shifts with Covid patients and spent three months in a hotel, away from her husband and children. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Nurse Jessica Bonacua was seconded to Sharjah's field hospital in the Expo Centre. She worked 12-hour shifts with Covid patients and spent three months in a hotel, away from her husband and children. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Nurse Jessica Bonacua, 39, was told this week that she was among the 80,000, for her work at the Sharjah Expo Centre field hospital.

"I feel like I am appreciated," she told The National.

“We were dealing with Covid-19 patients every day in 12-hour shifts, we had to live in a hotel for three months and I was away from my husband and kids.

"With this recognition and the benefits the project is promising, it’s an honour for all of us.”

Those on the registry will receive support from the government and private sector. Mental health services and schooling assistance is expected to be provided where needed.

Ms Bonacua and her family would benefit from school fees support, as her two children have been homeschooled due to recent financial troubles.

Yousra Elawany, 37, has been chosen for her volunteering work with a Covid-19 investigation team that traced the spread of cases.

She is also the school doctor at Dubai’s Modern Skills School and began volunteering in April.

“I’m a doctor today, but maybe one day I’ll be a patient. So, I can only hope on that day someone would help me,” said Dr Elawany.

Her duties included tracking Covid-19 cases as part of an investigation team. Later, she was moved to labour accommodation, looking at the safety measures being taken there.

“The experience changed a lot for me, as I’m sure it did for everyone else,” said Dr Elawany. “It was especially difficult for my two children who had to manage e-learning mostly on their own.”

"The professionals in the registry will be informed of their inclusion in the programme by government officials later this week.

Results:

6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres

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7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m

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7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m

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8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m

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8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m

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9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m

Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS

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Transmission: six-speed manual
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Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88

Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883

HIJRA

Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy

Director: Shahad Ameen

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A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

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ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
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Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

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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].
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Band Aid

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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.
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• Denny Strong, 20
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• Rikki Olds, 25
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