The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 brought about a lot of changes in all our lives. While it taught us the importance of hygiene and safe practices, and prioritising life over livelihood, it has also disrupted medical services and uptake severely. The three months of nationwide lockdown were the worst affected, with routine medical services completely jeopardized, and even emergency services being out of reach for many due to transportation problems. Over, the last four months, we un-locked and re-started our routine services; however, the Fear of the invisible virus has still prevented patients from coming for regular checkups.
Ophthalmology has been one of the worst affected fields. One study from Aravind eye hospital, Madurai reported that the number of outpatient department visits, retinal laser procedures, intravitreal injections and cataract surgeries during the lockdown period decreased by 96.5%, 96.5%, 98.7% and 99.7% respectively compared from the…
