Early 2020 has seen coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spread like wildfire across the world and invade the UK. The National Health Service was caught off guard and rapid preparations had to be made to combat this spread. Busy ophthalmology units have had to stop routine clinical work to tailor their service to protect the staff and patients. All efforts have been redirected to safely treat the emergency cases where there is a risk of patient harm through failure to treat serious eye disease [1].

Ophthalmic staff have faced anxiety in many units over availability of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and guidance on what is exactly required to mitigate the workplace risk in the Ophthalmology unit. This was rooted in the fact the ENT and Ophthalmology doctors were reported to have the highest mortality amidst all the healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 during the original outbreak in Wuhan, China [2]. Experts have attributed this to a possibly increased viral load exposure as a result of close proximity examinations and through aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) [2].

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