The new outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus termed ‘COVID-19’ has emerged as a serious global public health concern. The illness was first announced on 31 December 2019. The number of cases reported and documented from the declaration of the initial outbreak, to date, has grown exponentially [1].
Scientists believe that an animal source is ‘the most likely primary source’, and human-to-human transmission has occurred, with growing numbers of cases reportedly without exposure to animal markets via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how other respiratory pathogens spread [1]. The common transmission routes of novel coronavirus include direct transmission (cough, sneeze, and droplet inhalation transmission) and contact transmission (contact with oral, nasal, and eye mucous membranes) [2]. Hence the best possible measure to break the chain of spread is to avoid contact transmission via “MEN” i.e. Mouth, Eye and Nose by temporarily suspending elective dental procedures or use protective barriers in rendering emergency dental services.