Upper Aerodigestive Tract Endoscopy During COVID-19

Excerpt

COVID-19 is spreading exponentially worldwide, with the infections scaling 9.2 million and resulting in 0.47 million deaths as of June 24, 2020. Meanwhile, in India, there were above 0.45 million infections and more than 14,000 deaths, with a rising trend crossing 14,000 infections per day. Although the number of infections was much low in Kerala (our region of practice) then, the current daily surge has now reached the national highest, and the test positivity rate has crossed the national average. As of October 15, 2020, the world figures have reached the 38.7 million mark, with death crossing 1.1 million, and in India, the statistics are a total of above 7.3 million and 0.1 million deaths with a daily surge of more than 67,000 cases. However, in Kerala, the death rate remains far below the national average, i.e., 0.3% against 1.53% (https://​edition.​cnn.​com/​interactive/​2020/​health/​coronavirus-maps-and-cases/​, https://​www.​worldometers.​info/​coronavirus/​country/​india/​). …