How had COVID-19 changed the shape of Public Health in India

Abstract

Public health has never been a subject of such focus. Although critical in the dynamics of every country and society, it is witnessing the change it has never thought it would in this century! However “Change”, which is the only constant, is being radically changing „health systems‟ due to SARS-CoV-2. And the change is extra-ordinary! COVID-19, a novel strain of beta corona virus related to SARS and MERS, has caused more than twenty three million people affected worldwide till date. First reported from Wuhan in China in December 2019, “COVID-19‟ is testing the health infrastructure and societal response capabilities reminiscent of the 1918 global pandemic of Influenza that probably resulted in ~ 50 million deaths worldwide. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 [1].