The role of Guidance and Planning on Safety of Ophthalmic Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported for the first time in China in December 2019.[1] It has been spreading rapidly worldwide and has emerged as the most massive health crisis since World War II.[2, 3] The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a pandemic on March 12, 2019.[4] The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health crisis but also has a significant impact on societies, economies, and progress rates toward the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.[5] The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) ranks third in the world in terms of the total number of confirmed cases among the six WHO regions.[6] Iran, as one of the EMR countries, has reported 217,724 confirmed cases and 10,239 deaths from February 19 to June 26, 2020 (Figure 1). A recently published meta-analysis reported that the risk of transmission is reduced by more than 75% through implementing three strategies by both healthcare workers and communities: at least a 1-m social distancing, use of a face masks (surgical or similar masks (12–16-layer cotton or gauze masks), N95 respirators or similar), and eye protection.[7] Recently, the WHO has released interim guidance on the use of masks for avoiding transmission of COVID- 19.