The 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic is upending life on a global level as we know it. The highly infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV 2). It was first seen in Wuhan, Hubei, China where its outbreak was first identified in December 2019. After almost 3 months, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization recognized it as a pandemic considering its significant ongoing spread in multiple countries across the world. As of April 11, 2020, approximately 1,741,621 cases of COVID 19 have been confirmed in over 210 countries and territories resulting in around 106,670 deaths. Clearly, the corona virus outbreak situation cannot be taken lightly. Global pandemic of COVID 19, its ophthalmic implications, and precautions are nicely summarized in recently published editorial.

While on one hand people across India and around the globe are largely confined to their homes with businesses and educational institutions all shut down in an attempt to contain the virus, and on the other hand doctors, health care workers, and medical staff members are leading the battle against COVID 19 from the front. Putting their own lives at risk with selfless determination for the sake of saving lives, they truly are our heroes in these challenging times. While they are putting their own health, families, and most importantly their own lives at risk, the least we can do is appreciate their efforts and cooperate by staying safe indoors. That being said, it is good to see tributes pouring in for all the medical heroes working in scrubs. On occasion of the Doctors’ Day (March 30, 2020 USA and Australia), the stories of the medical heroes are inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time.

Needless to say, doctors, nurses and people working in health care sectors are particularly vulnerable to the highly infectious disease. In response to the global pandemic, the under resourced doctors are facing unprecedented challenges. The list of the sleep deprived heroes includes doctors, nurses, medical cleaners, pathologists, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and health care administrators. In the fight against coronavirus, the brave medical army stands strong with thermometers, stethoscopes, and ventilators as their weapons. Not to forget, medical researchers are working day in and night out against all odds, hoping to find the antidote to the disease. Since the coronavirus outbreak, health care professionals have not only experienced the gratification of healing patients and saving their lives but have also lost many battles along the way.

On top of that, many doctors have even sacrificed their own lives in the line of duty. Every day, the selfless warriors are giving it their all in health care settings while cutting themselves off from their families and loved ones. The sacrifice that they are making for the safety and welfare of humanity is priceless and deserves lifelong gratitude on our end. Most importantly, we must reassess the value health care workers hold in our lives and the kind of treatment they get from us. Among the several lessons this coronavirus pandemic has been teaching us, the biggest one is to find ways to sufficiently invest in the better and more efficient medical fraternity and give medical professionals the respect, compensation and infrastructure that they truly deserve once this crisis is over.

That being said, we'd now like to highlight the heroic efforts of a courageous and inspiring doctor who lost his life while saving the lives of COVID 19 patients.

The death that broke several hearts in the initial days of coronavirus spread was of Dr. Li Wenliang, a Chinese ophthalmologist who tried to warn fellow practitioners about the potential outbreak of a virus. Unfortunately, he was accused of making false claims and misleading the public. Dr. Li's warning did not depend on sophisticated laboratory testing or expensive imaging studies, but on his own understanding of biological plausibility—the kind of analysis that clinicians of all specialties could make. The New York Times reported that on January 10, 2020, Dr Li developed a cough after having treated a woman for glaucoma who had unknowingly been infected with the coronavirus, probably by her daughter. No report suggests that he observed any ophthalmologic complications of the coronavirus infection in his patient.

The 34 year old eye specialist, in his Weibo story, revealed how he had come down with cough and fever after a month of his warning going unnoticed. The doctor had contracted the virus while treating a glaucoma case (suffering from corona virus) in Wuhan. Dr. Li passed away on February 7, 2020 leaving the people in China and worldwide grieving and angry. Another doctor who died of the disease in Wuhan was just 29 years old. As per the reports, he had postponed his Lunar New Year marriage to serve humanity and treat patients who had been hit by the virus. Unfortunately, he ended up contracting the virus from one of his patients and died a hero.