COVID-19: Are we living the new normal in the UAE?

Gulf News

Sharing their experiences in these COVID-19 times, Gulf News staff talk of how they are coping amid the new social norms we now have to live with  Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3gt2OCq  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos  Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  #UAE #coronavirus #newnormal

Transcript

00:00I was warned that in the time of coronavirus, I should cut my hair at home

00:09rather than visit the salon. But all my fears were put to rest the moment I

00:14walked into the barber shop in Ghisais. The barbers, whom I have known for more

00:19than 10 years, took my temperature first and then asked me to sit down on a chair

00:25which was sterilized in front of me. They were all wearing masks and gloves. At no

00:31point of time did I find that my safety was compromised. It was the cleanest

00:36haircut I've ever had. Gardening has been something that I go to. What the

00:44lockdown has done for me is that I was never able to get enough time to do this

00:50because you're running around and as most gardeners would be very aware, you

00:55need to spend time with plants. You need to spend time. It's not a quick process

01:01but it is wonderfully rewarding and what this lockdown has done is help me get

01:06back to that, give me time to reconnect and especially to attend to plants that

01:12have been with me, who have moved with me from home to home such as my royal

01:17jasmine and my mint etc, who've been like my friends. So the lockdown has been a

01:24great opportunity to reacquaint myself with my old friends. Traffic jams, I never

01:30thought I would be happy to see them. When I went to a restaurant for the

01:33first time since the COVID pandemic, I was a little bit worried and skeptical

01:39how I would really enjoy the experience but it ended up being very nice and very

01:44pleasant and really safe and I think now establishments are an extra high alert

01:50because of all of the potential outbreaks that could occur so they're

01:55being extra clean and extra careful. Talking about a new normal, I think our

02:00offices will never be the same again post pandemic. In the last 20-30 years if

02:05you look at the trend worldwide then you will notice that the tendency has always

02:09been to have offices that are more open plan where employees can sit closer to

02:14one another and you know that leaves a lot of room for people to really

02:18interact and have a lot of bonhomie on the office floor. But given the kind of

02:25situation we are in and given the fact that social distancing is going to

02:28become a part and parcel of our lives, I think our offices will no longer have

02:33this open plan look which they currently have. I had to travel by Dubai Metro the

02:37other day and I was really taken by surprise to see the way social

02:42distancing measures have been put in place. Usually around midday trains would

02:47be packed and I normally don't get a place to sit but on that particular day

02:52which happened about a week or so ago, not only did I find a place to sit but I

02:56could actually pick and choose one. The social distancing measures have actually

03:01made sure that not many people get to crowd inside a compartment or even get

03:06inside the stations at any given point of time. Now that has really made my

03:10familiar, my favorite Metro in Dubai look rather unfamiliar but having said that I

03:17must also admit that these measures which have been put in place were very

03:22reassuring because they told me that the Metro and its commuters are in safe

03:27hands. Had someone told me that I would be questioning the hygiene at a hospital

03:31here in the UAE a few months ago, I would have probably laughed in their faces. But

03:36this is a new normal we're living during a pandemic and it's just something that

03:39we're actually learning to get used to. Which is why I choose to watch a movie

03:45in a concrete car park as opposed to going to the regular cinema or learning

03:50a lot about patients while trying to teach my technology challenged mum how

03:55to use a video chatting app on her cell phone. This is how life is going to be in

04:00the next few months and we're just going to live it a day at a time.

04:03Last week I woke up, it's too thick and it was very hard decision to go to a dentist

04:07during COVID-19 situation but it turned out to be a pleasant experience because

04:11when I entered the clinic I was scared but dentist was quite calm and cool. He

04:17was wearing all the safety kits and I spent like 10 minutes and I was out. They

04:23were not doing any cosmetic things. I had pain, he took my x-rays and just

04:28immediately sent me off with a prescription. I found out the clinic was

04:33pretty good and it was well sanitized. All the precautionary measures were taken.

04:38So guys, there's no need to be afraid of going to the dentist or hospital if you have to go.

04:43I usually like to sit in front of the taxis when I ride one here in UAE because it's

04:49more personal to the driver. I need help to give instructions, share GPS or stuff

04:54with him. But the extra plus is that you hear the stories they tell you. I mean

04:59the taxi drivers in UAE are the most fascinating in the world. They come from

05:03everywhere in the countries. Last time when I ride a taxi it was very

05:08different. There was plastic in between me and the driver. I had to sit in the back

05:14because sitting in the front is not allowed. Only two persons can ride a taxi.

05:17So this time I couldn't hear any story from my driver. I couldn't share more

05:23information with him. I couldn't get to know him even better, even for a small

05:27ride and that changed my routine quite a lot.

05:31Grocery shopping for me now. The standard operating procedure has become a stressful operating procedure.

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