COVID-19 pandemic in India: Should rural secondary care hospitals stop surgical care?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a real test to the healthcare system of India ever since the first reported case in December 2019. Surgical illnesses amongst other diseases have taken a severe brunt during the pandemic due to restriction in operative procedures, lockdown and travel restrictions. The tertiary care centers located in tier three cities are burdened with managing patients with COVID-19 infections. The impact due to cancellation and postponement of surgical illnesses will be tremendous. It is imperative to make rural secondary care hospitals part of the solution in this crisis. In this article, the authors have summarized how best this can be achieved in a manner that protects the patients without putting the health workers at risk.