Ramya Radhakrishnan, 36, said she had to live away from her children for close to a month. Ms Radhakrishnan works in the critical isolation unit at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Sharjah. Her son Adhvaith, 8, and daughter Ridhika, 4, were sad when their mother had to stay at a hotel during the height of the pandemic. "I was anxious and stressed," Ms Radhakrishnan said. "I was scared of getting infected and carrying it to my family. "This was the first time I had been away from them for such a long time. I only saw them through video calls every day."

When she was not at the hospital, Ms Radhakrishnan read bedtime stories to her children, by phone and video calls. She also helped her little ones to study – both were engaged in online classes. She would tell them about her experiences, which they listened to keenly.

"It was really hard for me to manage work, home, and family," she said.

Her husband, Abhilash Nambillipurath, took time off work to help their children. She said her children usually made cards for her on Mother’s Day but she was waiting to see what they had planned this year.