When Amy Pickles and her two children flew back to Dubai from the UK at the end of August, everyone was in perfect health.

The family had spent their summer holiday in rural Scotland, and Mrs Pickles tested negative for Covid-19 before boarding the flight from Glasgow back to the emirate.

The children went back to school for the autumn term, and the family settled back into life in Dubai. A few days later, Mrs Pickles, 43 took her son, Roddy, for a playdate.

"We didn't know at the time, but the little girl had Covid-19, which we presume she caught in London, because her family had just got back from the UK. She only had a headache, but later tested positive, so we tested Roddy."

Roddy, nine, had no symptoms, but his PCR test came back positive.

"At first I presumed it was a mistake because he was fine, and it was just annoying that we had to isolate and start home-schooling. But one day later he started to get ill, feeling grumpy with a temperature and he lost his taste and smell," said Mrs Pickles, who is from the UK.

"Then two days later, I woke up feeling dreadful and it started getting worse and worse and worse."