With the Covid-19 outbreak in the US affecting many areas with large Arab-American populations, medical professionals from the community are at the forefront of the battle to treat overwhelming numbers of people affected.
States such as Michigan, New York, Florida and California, which have been hit hardest by the rapid spread of the respiratory disease, are also home to most of the nearly 3.5 million Arab Americans in the US.
Even the man at the centre of the presidential task force to address the crisis, Secretary for Human and Health Services Alex Azar, is of Lebanese descent.
The impact of the pandemic on the US, with more than 430,000 cases and nearly 15,000 deaths so far, is familiar to some Arab-American medics who have worked in man-made disasters such the Syrian civil war.
Zaher Sahloul, a critical care doctor at Christ Advocate Medical Centre in Chicago and president of refugee assistance group MedGlobal, said the situation at his hospital was closer to a “war zone".
Dr Sahloul, who is of Syrian descent, said the system was being overwhelmed by the number of patients while facing a shortage of resources.
He has led medical aid missions to Syria for the past nine years to help civilians affected by the fierce fighting, which destroyed many medical centres.
Now back in Chicago, he says the medical instinct to help in an unravelling health system is similar, although the deprivation was much higher in Syria.
"No matter what we do, some of the patients will die. It is painful but life prepares you for disasters," Dr Sahloul told The National.
“My hospital here in Chicago has more ventilators than the whole of the Gaza Strip and Syria combined."
But it was also reaching full capacity and having to move Covid-19 patients to different wards, while doctors were forced to use the same mask for days, he said.
The state of Illinois has over 15,000 cases and more than 400 have died because of the coronavirus.
The state is home to more than 111,000 Arab-Americans, according to the Arab American Institute.
Dr Salhoul said the pandemic would create empathy for Syrian healthcare workers and what they have gone through, sometimes sacrificing their own lives trying to save others.
In Michigan state, home to a quarter of a million Arab-Americans, even medical professionals not normally involved in treatment are trying to help the system cope with the more than 20,000 Covid-19 cases detected as of Wednesday, of whom nearly 1,000 have died.
One of them is Dealla Fakhouri, a nurse in the clinical research division at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit who transferred to the intensive care unit in late March.
“I wanted to go where I can help,” said Ms Fakhouri, who is of Jordanian descent.
She described a harrowing situation that “nobody can ever be completely prepared for”.
Most of the patients under Ms Fakhouri's care are on respirators, hooked up to tubes and monitors, and their families are bracing for the worst.
"It's very overwhelming but also empowering to be on front lines to help these patients," she told The National from her home, where she is isolating herself from her family to protect them.
As an Arab-American, Ms Fakhouri said, it was wonderful to be able to give back to the country and the state where she grew up.
But she also emphasised the contributions of all health workers, regardless of their origin.
“Being Arab-American is a bonus, it’s wonderful, but I do want to say that the nurses I work with, no matter their nationality or ethnicity, we are all in this together.”
She considers herself one of the lucky ones as her hospital has not had shortages of gowns, ventilators and other essential equipment.
Not far from the Detroit suburb where Ms Fakhouri works, Belal Abdallah, a veteran doctor in the Michigan community, said Arab-Americans has been coming together and volunteering their services to help those in need.
"The community has risen to the call during this pandemic, with people helping each other out with food delivery, transportation, shelter," Dr Abdallah told The National.
“I am also proud of the fact that most of the community understood the importance of social distancing."
All restaurants, cafes and salons have complied with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's order to shut.
But Dr Abdallah, who emigrated from Lebanon in 1973 and has been practising medicine since 1995, is worried about underlying medical conditions in the community as it faces the virus.
“We have many in the community with diabetes, hypertension or who smoke," he said.
One of the cases with which he is involved is that of a Lebanese-American patient in his forties who is suffering acute respiratory distress syndrome, also know as Ards.
Dr Abdallah said he had been drawing up contingency plans since the first Covid-19 case landed in the US on January 15.
“I created a plan to go virtual and rolled out video with instructions later in March,” he said.
The biggest challenge “is determining which patients, whether young or old, are at risk for developing Ards and respiratory failure and death”, Dr Abdallah said.
His hope is that, until a vaccine is developed, people behave "as if the virus is in the air, with everyone else potentially infected and perhaps asymptomatic”.
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
BABYLON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Damien%20Chazelle%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Brad%20Pitt%2C%20Margot%20Robbie%2C%20Jean%20Smart%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
More on Quran memorisation:
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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.
