DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Could you sleep well at night knowing one of you in the flat has COVID-19?
Dino Sindac Tumaliuan, drummer of the popular Dubai all-Pinoy band, Up the Ante, and the rest of his flat mates could not, for obvious reasons.
“Wala naman akong naramdaman, except siguro dahil nababasa ko ang mga symptoms sa social media, nagkakaroon ka ng paranoia na meron ka na rin siguro,” said Tumaliuan, whose day job is with the operations department of a finance company in the city.
The whole thing started, he said, when one of their flatmates tested positive for COVID-19 on May 10. “Siyam kami sa flat, six got infected kasi di na-isolate agad yung una,” he said.
Tumaliuan said they immediately contacted Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and sought advice as they were sharing a flat.
“Natakot kami na magkakahawaan,” said Tumaliuan, who hails from San Pablo, Isabela and Baler, Aurora.
Noting how busy DHA has been handling all COVID cases across the city, Tumaliuan said they came up with a plan of their own on how to handle their situation.
“Talagang they (DHA staff) all sounded overworked kapag natawag ka, kaya kami-kami na lang ang gumawa ng paraan para ma-admit sa private hospital yung unang na-infect,” said Tumaliuan.
He said DHA advised to home quarantine the COVID-positive flatmate if asymptomatic. “We objected so we decided to have everyone checked up and isolate ourselves in a hotel,” Tumaliuan said.
“Yung iba kinuha ng company nila kasi meron silang hotel na paglalagyan sa kanila na closely monitored ng medical professionals,” said Tumaliuan, who added that they also opened a Whatsapp group chat from which they all communicated for updates.
“We came up with a step-by-step plan kung paano kami uuwi, sino uuwi una sa mga negative at ano ang gagawin. We’ve set our own protocol sa bahay na anyone going back home should have tested negative muna. Yung result ng tests, sine-share namin sa isa’t isa,” said Tumaliuan.
As of press time, Tumaliuan said there were two remaining flatmates waiting for their COVID-19 test results.
“Seven of us got home after having our flat disinfected. Binakante po sya namin ng four days,” he said.
Huwag pasaway
Tumaliuan lives in the Muraqqabat area in Deira, north of Dubai.
He said people should remain vigilant against the virus. Dubai has finally started opening up to revitalize the economy, but this, he stressed, doesn’t mean the threat is gone; it actually requires people to be extra careful and strictly follow protocols like social distancing the wearing of face masks, he said.
“I am sharing this po na sana wag maging kampante and lahat. Most of us po ay working at home. Kahit sino pwede kapitan ng virus. Always keep the positive attitude lang kapag nahawaan ka. Kasi ang worry ang magko cause ng stress kapag nag isolate ka. Which will make your immune systems deteriotate at mas magiging vulnerable ka,” Tumaliuan said.
“Kailangan talagang malaman ng mga kababayan natin kung gaano kasersyoso ang sitwasyon. Dami pa kasi umiistambay sa labas na akala nila walang pandemic,” he added.
Forty-eight 48 Filipinos have died of COVID-19 in Dubai as of May. Tumaliuan said he knew two of those who have passed away.
Up the Ante came up with the theme song for this year’s “Kalayaan 2020” Philippine Independence Day festivities, entitled, “Iisa Tayo.”
As of June 2, ghe UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), there were 35,788 COVID-19 cases across the UAE. Of this number, 18,726 have recovered. There were 269 deaths, MoHAP said.
The Daily Bread 