Protecting the health of doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. With a vaccine some time away, and no effective drug treatment currently available, the options for controlling the pandemic remain limited. With >170 000 cases and >26 000 deaths, the UK has been among the worst affected countries globally. Tragically, >100 health and care workers are reported to have already died in the UK because of COVID-19, including several GPs. 3 More deaths are inevitable unless urgent action is taken to reduce the risk of healthcare workers contracting COVID-19 infection in the workplace.