Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic: Strengthening of the health system and mounting an effective public health response

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak initiated with a cluster of pneumonia cases in the Wuhan city and subsequently accounted for a significant caseload in China. The COVID-19 pandemic should not deviate us from the efforts required for the public health authorities to effectively contain the spread of the infection. It is worth noticing that the spread and distribution of the disease has not been uniform, with most of the affected nations have not reported very high number of cases. This is an opportunity for the nations to strengthen their outbreak readiness and emergency response to the outbreak of the disease. In conclusion, the heterogeneous distribution of COVID-19 has given opportunities for the public health authorities to mount a coordinated and concerted response. The need of the hour is to strengthen health systems and implement strategies based on the local case scenario and actively engage the whole of community in the entire response.