Khaleej Times gives you an exclusive look from ground zero.

As the UAE steps up its fight against the coronavirus, Khaleej Times gets exclusive access inside a Covid-19 ward in Dubai to find out how medics as frontline warriors are saving lives. Our Assistant Editor Anjana Sankar will be with the doctors for a day at the Aster hospital in Al Qusais. Follow our live blog here for updates from ground zero.

You can also follow our live coverage on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

3pm

It is 3pm and I have spent nearly three hours inside the Covid-19 ward. It is hot and sweaty inside the PPE (personal protective equipment) gear. I am struggling to breathe inside the mask. My protective glasses are making my eyes foggy. Honestly, I can't wait to get out of this gear.



As I accompany the team of doctors who are attending to coronavirus-positive patients, it is not easy to watch the suffering people undergo. There are only male patients here from all age groups; young and old; healthy and those with medical conditions - the virus does not spare anyone.



I got access inside one of the ICU (intensive care unit) wards in the hospital. I take a deep breath before walking in with a silent prayer.



Beeping.



Constant beeping of monitors attached to the beds are deafening. The beeps break the otherwise eerie silence inside the ward. Nurses are busy. Some are attending to the patients, checking their vitals. Some are on the computer.



I hear a patient groaning in pain. He is on a ventilator and his body is all wired up. I saw him gesturing by trying to lift his hands. I tell a nurse that maybe he was asking for something. "Bhaiya, kya chahiye? (brother, do you need something?)," the nurse asks. He can hardly talk but his hands move towards his mask. He wants to take it off and talk. "He is incubated. We cannot take the mask off except when giving him medicine and a sip of water," the nurse says.

5.30pm

Watch: "It is not easy to watch the suffering people undergo - the virus does not spare anyone."



Khaleej Times' Assistant Editor @Asankar takes us behind the scenes from a #Covid19 hospital ward in Dubai.



Here's an exclusive look from ground zero: https://t.co/DpeQ0oscKA pic.twitter.com/NfafdtKh0L - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

2.15pm

Watch: Meet the housekeeping staff from Aster Hospital in Dubai who are on the frontline of the #CoronavirusPandemic (2/2)



Blog: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3



Video: @Asankar / Khaleej Times pic.twitter.com/oM1QA28P56 - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

2.03pm

Watch: Behind the scenes on a Covid-19 hospital ward in Dubai



Khaleej Times' Assistant Editor @Asankar is embedding with the doctors for a day at the Aster hospital in Al Qusais to find out how medics as frontline warriors are saving lives.



Blog link: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3 pic.twitter.com/VLxnUzJTas - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

2.03pm

Watch: Behind the scenes on a Covid-19 hospital ward in Dubai



Khaleej Times' Assistant Editor @Asankar is embedding with the doctors for a day at the Aster hospital in Al Qusais to find out how medics as frontline warriors are saving lives.



Blog link: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3 pic.twitter.com/VLxnUzJTas - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

1.49pm

Watch: A doctor in Aster Hospital in Dubai explains how the #COVID19 samples are being processed.



Khaleej Times gives you an exclusive look from inside a Covid-19 intensive care ward in Dubai. Follow our updates here: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3



Video: @Asankar/ Khaleej Times pic.twitter.com/f4J5BqxNIx - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

1.34pm

Watch: A nurse in Aster Hospital in Dubai explains how the personal protective equipment (#PPE) works - and its importance for health care workers on the front line treating patients with #COVID19.



Follow our updates here: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3



Video: @Asankar/ Khaleej Times pic.twitter.com/rapCL47DvP - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

1.15pm

Watch: First look inside a Covid-19 intensive care ward in Dubai.



Khaleej Times gives you an exclusive look from ground zero. It is the first time an English newspaper in UAE has been allowed inside an ICU treating CoVid-19 patients. https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3 Video: @Asankar pic.twitter.com/ykxqTNcwbj - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

1.03pm

Combating coronavirus: An interview with a Covid-19 patient currently in an isolation ward at the Aster hospital in Al Qusais



Follow our updates here: https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3



(Video: Anjana Sankar/Khaleej Times @Asankar) pic.twitter.com/9M7du0O2zs - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

12.38pm

Combating coronavirus: Khaleej Times gets exclusive access inside a Covid-19 hospital ward in Dubai.



Follow our updates here. https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3



(Video: Anjana Sankar/Khaleej Times @Asankar) pic.twitter.com/KJTWgGxHzG - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

12.33pm

Combating coronavirus: Khaleej Times gets exclusive access inside a Covid-19 hospital ward in Dubai.



Our Assistant Editor Anjana Sankar @Asankar is embedding with the doctors for a day at the Aster hospital in Al Qusais. Follow our updates here. https://t.co/I2GHM9FBY3 pic.twitter.com/ojnYcsIQvU - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020

11.43am

Combating coronavirus: Khaleej Times gets exclusive access inside a Covid-19 hospital ward in Dubai to find out how medics are saving lives.



Our Assistant Editor Anjana Sankar @Asankar is here with Dr Sherbaz Bichu CEO & Specialist Anesthetist from Aster Hospitals, UAE. pic.twitter.com/mSVCGInqm2 - Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 21, 2020