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Background

  • The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 2020.
  • As of May 26 2020, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported over 5.5 million confirmed cases and 347,836 deaths worldwide from COVID-19.1
  • In the US, hospitals were instructed to limit non-essential procedures by March 18 2020.
  • As a result, clinics shifted from in-person visits to telehealth, employing real-time interactive remote audio and video communication between them and their patients.
  • Non-respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 include headache; therefore, consideration has to be given to how patients are managed to maximise their safety, avoid infection of healthcare workers and minimise demands on an already overburdened hospital infrastructure.