Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi-based mother and her newborn baby have recovered from the coronavirus, health authorities announced in the capital on Tuesday.
Raneen Abu Zaher, a Palestinian homemaker, and her baby son, Jad, beat the coronavirus in another hopeful story amid the global pandemic.
Jad and his mother had apparently been diagnosed with the COVID-19 infection when he was a day old. The diagnosis came even as the other three members of their family — two other sons aged eight and years, and Abu Zaher’s husband — tested negative.
“The test was done routinely after my son was born at the Corniche Hospital, and I didn’t expect this result. It was very hard, because I could not even see or hold him,” Abu Zaher told Gulf News.
She was placed in isolation, while Jad was treated in isolation at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the same facility.
The mother-of-three says it was the most difficult thing she has experienced, being away from her newborn son and the rest of her family.
“We never went out and we sanitised everything we brought home. So I never expected this turn of events. But I tried to hold on to my faith, and prayed for my entire family,” Abu Zaher said.
Following four days of hospitalisation, Abu Zaher was transferred to a hotel for quarantine for three additional days, until a follow-up test showed she was negative for the virus.
Two weeks after he was born, Jad finally tested negative and his mother was able to hold him in her arms. The baby has a congenital heart disorder, so he is still being monitored at the hospital. But he is due to be discharged soon.
A spate of COVID-19 cases has been detected among young children in the UAE in recent days. To everyone’s relief, young patients have been winning the battle against the virus in stories that hold out hope for all.
