UAE identifies 80,000 frontline heroes for special Covid-19 care programme


Rory Reynolds
  • English
  • Arabic

More than 80,000 frontline workers who are deemed essential to the fight against coronavirus have been identified for a new nationwide programme.

A registry will contain the specialisms of each professional, providing the government with a "detailed national picture of all those who serve on the front line".

The project, overseen by the Frontline Heroes Office, will ensure there is a support system in place and benefits for their families.

Among the 80,000 are healthcare practitioners, police, essential service providers, crisis managers, security and emergency service providers, humanitarian agencies, sanitation personnel and volunteers.

We want to create an environment where these talented heroes receive the recognition that makes them want to continue their careers and raise their families here

“Our frontline heroes make the choice every day to put their own health and well-being at risk to protect the lives of people across our nation," said Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon, chairman of the Frontline Heroes Office.

"We owe it to them to recognise their heroic efforts and ensure we are providing our frontline professionals and their families with the same level of protection and support they offer us.”

The office was set up in July by decree of the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and is under the direction of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

It was given the job of listening and responding to the challenges of frontline professionals, and ensuring they are "nationally recognised and celebrated".

Those on the registry will receive support from government departments and private sector companies.

This is expected to include help with mental health services and schooling, where needed, and extend to benefits and discounts.

The UAE was recently recognised as one of the most effective countries at tackling the pandemic.

It was praised for its swift action, strict rules, adherence to wearing face masks in public, a commitment to mass testing and the ability of the large public and private health sectors to collaborate in handling patients.

Dr Maha Barakat, director general of the Frontline Heroes Office, said the registry was set up in response to the Covid-19 pandemic but it would go farther and ensure the UAE was always prepared.

“We must always be prepared and ready to immediately and effectively respond to any crisis or emergency we face today and any time in the future for the protection of our people and our society," Dr Barakat said.

"To help our nation maintain a frontline workforce ready and be able to take on the sacrifices and risks we ask, we owe it to them to ensure they are appropriately recognised and supported by our government and people."

The 80,000 professionals will be informed this week of their inclusion in the registry.

Dr Barakat said the office's first task has been to listen and learn, "to truly understand what matters most to them".

"We need to always work to better understand and respond to the pain points and challenges our frontline heroes face," she said.

"We want to create an environment where these incredibly talented and committed frontline heroes receive the kind of support and recognition that makes them want to continue to build their careers and raise their families here in the UAE."

Abu Dhabi this week set up a hotline – 800 937292 – for people with mental health problems brought about by the pandemic.

Trained professionals will offer essential information and advice, and lend a compassionate ear to people finding it hard to cope.

Meet 20 heroes in the UAE's frontline fight against Covid-19

Three ways to boost your credit score

Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:

1. Make sure you make your payments on time;

2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;

3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.

2.0

Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

RESULT

West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' ) 
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72') 

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

Key developments

All times UTC 4

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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet

Price, base: Dh429,090

Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission Seven-speed automatic

Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km

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RESULTS

Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)

Mumbai won by 13 runs

Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)

Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full

1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury

Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')

Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)

Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)

Thor: Ragnarok

Dir: Taika Waititi

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson

Four stars

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

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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”.

Champions parade (UAE timings)

7pm Gates open

8pm Deansgate stage showing starts

9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral

9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street

10pm City players on stage

11pm event ends

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