Mahira Khan, who is celebrating her birthday in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, has thanked her fans, friends and family for their good wishes and prayers.
In an Instagram story, the actor wrote: “I’m going to try and reply to all the love and messages I have received in this time. And all the wonderful birthday messages, letters and videos too.”
Mahira shared that is better and on her way to recovery.
“Have no doubt in my heart that all of your prayers worked their magic. I felt the love, I felt it all. I love love you all,” added the actor.
The couple shared that they are doing well and are overwhelmed with the love and good wishes they have received in the past few days.
“Thanks to Allah, we are doing well,” said Yasir.
“We will always remember our 18th wedding anniversary because at this point we have spent thirteen full days together and have not had a single fight during this period,” laughed Yasir.
Nida also shared that in these twelve to thirteen days of quarantine, she has been binge-watching Diriliş: Ertuğrul and thoroughly enjoyed the series.
“My quarantine partner was actually Ertuğrul,” shared Nida.
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Nida and Yasir also shared a video from their quarantine anniversary celebrations.
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Meanwhile, Nida also requested their fans to pray for their good health.
We’ve seen Adnan Siddiqui essay a lot of roles on our TV screens but we never thought we’d see him as Wolverine from X-Men.
Adnan’s son Zayd recently dressed up his father as Wolverine and the actor couldn’t resist showing off his son’s skills on social media.
“This is the best time we can spend with our kids, how about letting them use their creativity on you,” wrote the actor.
“Here’s Zayd’s depiction of Wolverine (X-Men) on yours truly. Master Zayd, making his debut in direction, styling, hair and photography,” he further said. “Liked his debut?”
Last week, Adnan was involved in a controversy after television show host Aamir Liaquat made a callous remark on the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Sri Devi. After the clip of their exchange went viral on social media, Adnan regretted being on the show and apologised to the families of both the late actors for Liaquat’s remarks. Later, Aamir also apologised for his comments and said that he didn’t realise he was being insensitive.
It’s been a month or so of this new reality. Social distancing and self-isolation has turned all our schedules upside down. And for parents of young kids, that means a whole lot of chaos and moods. However, there is a lot we can do to make sure our kids get a wholesome life experience even during this very surreal way of life.
In this article I will go through the essentials that I include in a typical week to make my kids enjoy and learn from our days of social distancing.
Follow a routine
Children behave best when they know what to expect. The predictability of a routine or a set timetable gives them comfort and causes less anxiety. Hence try to start the day the same way and end it with a solid bedtime routine. Encourage kids to follow a timetable. For example, keep more educational activities in the first half when their minds are fresh, and more physical activities in the second half when you need to tire them out for bed! Repetition of this basic schedule helps children understand what is required and reduces tantrums considerably.
Since all of us are staying indoors and our activity levels have decreased quite a bit, avoiding junk and maintaining a healthy diet is essential. The healthier we eat, the more active and fresh we can be the whole day. Try your best to make majority food at home and keep all basic food groups covered throughout the day ranging from carbohydrates, meats, dairy, fats and starch to fruits and vegetables.
Screen time
Let’s admit screen time for kids translates to some me time for us adults, which is essential for our mental health. It is unrealistic to expect parents to engage with kids all the time without social lives or play dates. So revise your old rules and take each day at a time.
Fun time
It’s natural for children to want to jump around and create a mess whether that’s through arts and crafts or just free play. In these trying times don’t expect them to be robots. Let them create and imagine. In Pakistan, most houses have a garden so let them explore. And if you don’t have the great outdoors, create a space within the house which is safe for mess and fun.
Exercise
I recommend some kind of physical exercise at home for all kids. It is the best way to get their bodies energised and fit. It also helps them get a good night’s sleep. YouTube channels are a great resource for this. Whether its cardio through dance, or yoga, be sure to spend at least 30 minutes exercising.
Even though in theory us parents are with our kids day and night these days, are we really spending quality time with them all day? The answer is no and it’s normal. To think that every hour of the day will be filled with family bonding is unreasonable. In actuality, working parents are juggling between work, homeschooling, and daily chores. And stay at home parents are doing a lot of different tasks too. So take 30 minutes to an hour away from chores, work, and your mobile phones and give quality time to your kids. Whether that’s through board games or reading books together – the point is to give your children your undivided attention and make memories.
Outdoor time
Fresh air is a blessing now more than ever. Spending at least 15 to 30 minutes outdoors is known to increase happy hormones and relax anxious children and adults. So if you have a garden or any outdoor private safe space, use it! Go out for evening chai and snacks. And if you don’t, try to open your windows and sit by them for a little while to watch the blue skies. It will help your children feel better and appreciate a change in scenery.
Staying connected to God
One of the major advantages of being a Muslim is that we are reminded if the presence of a higher power at least 5 times a day. Use this opportunity to b teach your kids about Islam. Pray together if you can. Hope and faith are things that create positivity in all of us, so keep it alive as much as you can.
Staying connected to friends and family
Thanks to technology today, we can stay in touch with family and friends all over the world. Try to connect with your favourite people at least twice a week. This helps maintain relationships and helps children remember their old bonds. It creates a sense of sanity and reminds us that we are not in this alone.
Helping hands
The workload around the house has definitely increased for all of us since everyone is home all day and some of our temporary domestic help can also not come in. This means more food needs to be cooked, more laundry piles up, and in short more mess. In my opinion, these are all signs of life and laughter. So a family that uses and abuses the house together, should also clean and cook together. Encourage kids to help in all types of chores. This serves as an activity and helps pass the day in a productive way.
Boredom
Lastly, despite all of the above, there may be things you can’t manage. Some days may not have all the engagement mentioned and kids may say they are bored. To this I always say…it’s okay. Let them get bored. Boredom is actually good! It encourages them to think for themselves and sharpens their minds in more ways than giving them a well thought out activity.
Seven migrant workers, who came back home to West Bengal’s Purulia district from Chennai amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, perched on a banyan tree to remain in quarantine in the absence of separate room for self-isolation in their small huts, Gulf News reported.
After several days in their ‘temporary home’, the workers were on Saturday ordered to come down by the local administration.
The workers, all residents of Bangidiha village of Purulia district, said as they live in one-room mud huts with their families, there is no way they can keep themselves in isolation.
However, none of them have displayed symptoms linked to COVID-19, nor have they undergone any test for the disease.
“At present we don’t have any health issues. But in case we are detected positive for the disease at a later date, then at least none of the villagers will be infected because of us,” said one of the workers Bijay Singh Laya.
The workers reached Kharagpur junction station on Sunday last from Chennai where they underwent thermal screening and tests but the doctors did not find any symptom of the disease. “However, they asked us to stay in quarantine for 14 days as a safety measure”.
“But we don’t have any separate personal room in our home. So, we decided to live on the branches of the banyan tree just outside our village,” he said.
The seven labourers tied their beds to the branches of the tree, and used a mosquito net to prevent themselves from getting bitten.
Their family members brought them a daily ration of rice, pulses, and vegetables, along with other cooking implements and left after keeping those under the tree, while strictly maintaining the norms of social distancing.
“We get down from the tree, cook, and then go up again,” said one of the workers.
Villagers on their part kept night vigil by turn to ensure the tree-dwellers are not devoured by wild animals from the nearby forest or bitten by venomous snakes.
However, when the matter came to the attention of the local administration they asked the workers to return to their village.
With cases of coronavirus on the rise around the globe, governments and people are stepping up their efforts to control the spread of the virus as much as possible.
Maya Ali, who was recently in the United States for charity events, took to social media to share that she recently took the coronavirus test and thankfully it was negative. She shared that while she waited for her results, she was filled with stress and anxiety and urged people to take the threat seriously and take all the necessary precautions.
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Earlier Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui also shared that they were going into self-isolation after they returned from their trip to the US.
