What’s it like to get tested for Covid-19 in the UAE? A Filipino in Abu Dhabi shares his experience

  DUBAI – What’s it like to get tested for Covid-19? A Filipino based in Abu Dhabi shared his experience getting screened for coronavirus for the first time. Speaking to Expatmedia.net, Joe Yash said he took his free Covid-19 test at the Galleria Mall in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (April 30) . The 27-year-old wanted to take advantage of free tests in the capital as a precaution against coronavirus. His test came out negative on Thursday. In Abu Dhabi, as many as 20,000 employees working in malls have undergone Covid-19 testing ahead of the reopening of shopping malls in the emirate. “We were in the queue for two hours. It was a long queue because the test was free and we had to observe a two-metre distance from everyone in the queue. We were also strictly required to wear gloves and mask,” he told Expatmedia.net. In a TikTok video, a masked Yash is seen getting a PCR test. The nurse is heard telling him in Filipino to tilt his head up as a long thin swab is slowly inserted into his nostril. The PCR test is the most common and most accurate diagnostic test for determining whether someone is currently infected with coronavirus. First, a health care worker takes a swab from the back of the patient's nose, using a long thin nasopharyngeal swab. That swab is stored in a sterile tube that is sent to a lab for testing.

‘I was teary eyed’

Did it hurt? “A bit, yes, specially when the swab reached the wall of the nasopharynx. When the nurse was moving the swab it was ticklish and when he pulled the swab I was teary eyed, so if anyone is having their test they must bring tissue with them,” Yash said. Thankfully, the test didn’t take painfully long, he said. “It was pretty quick and when you are in the cubicle, there is a one minute temperature check, name check, swabbing and off you go. You will get the result visa SMS within 48 hours,” he said. The self-confessed “gym addict” said that undergoing the test will help ease his worries about the pandemic. He has been keeping himself busy and occupied during the lockdown, doing home workouts to boost his health. “Gyms are all closed during the community quarantine but I’m making sure that I’m able to do home workouts. I am also a YouTube vlogger, so I had more free time to create more videos,” he said. Yash has a message to UAE residents affected by the coronavirus in one way or another: “We are all facing hard and challenging times during this coronavirus pandemic. Let us all do our simple act of help to our community and to the frontliners by simply staying at home and observing social distancing as this will help flatten the curve of virus transmission. Let’s eat healthy and do home workouts as it will help everyone in staying healthy and fit,” he said. PR/Expat Media Follow Joe Yash on Instagram @badguyjoeyan

What is a PCR test?

Polymerase chain reaction tests, known as PCR, are the most common and most accurate tests for determining whether someone is currently infected with Covid-19.

How does it work?

The PCR test works by getting a nasal swab from the patient and sending that specimen to the lab to look for the unique genetic code of Covid-19 to determine whether or not the patient is infected with coronavirus. https://www.expatmedia.net/uae-sends-medical-supplies-7000-philippines/2020/04/ https://www.expatmedia.net/filipino-nurse-uae-dies-covid-19/2020/04/ https://www.expatmedia.net/roommates-left-filipino-expat-dubai-living-covid-19/2020/04/ https://www.expatmedia.net/help-baby-says-filipina-limbo-dubai/2020/04/
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