COVID 19 Pandemic: Transforming Health Care

Abstract

The beginning of New Year marked the biggest pandemic of the 21st Century-a major threat for humanity jeopardizing their health systems, economy, social and cultural norms, and behaviors. First identified in Wuhan, China on December 31st, 2019 as pneumonia cases of non-specific etiology, it was later identified as COVID-19 caused by novel Coronavirus (2019 nCoV) and declared as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by WHO [1]. Within a month a rapid wave of infection spread outside China affecting more than 200 countries of the world [2]. According to the most recent WHO situation report, 3435894 cases have been confirmed and 239604 deaths have been attributed due to COVID-19 pandemic globally [3]. The devastating situation of the COVID-19 outbreak has already occurred in the USA (1125719 cases), Italy (210717 cases), and Iran (97424 cases) resulting in overburdening of their health care system [3]. In Pakistan, the first imported case of COVID-19 was reported on 26th February 2020 and now within 2 months there has been an exponential growth in the number leading to the total of 20084 cases with more than 457 deaths reported countrywide [3].