Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on post graduate gynecological training and surgical skills: Indian perspective

After a cluster of cases of pneumonia was reported in the Wuhan province of China in December 2019, a new strain of Coronavirus gained global importance. It rapidly spread across various countries. Deeply concerned by its alarming levels of spread and severity, the WHO finally called it a pandemic [1]. The year to come would be dominated by this single event, as no year has been since the Second World War. Going through the euphoria of false victory due to herd immunity by the beginning of 2021, India stepped into the critical stage after the emergence of new strains [2]. With more than 20.2 million cases of COVID-19 being reported, a rolling average of 4,12,262 cases daily and death tolls crossing 3,980 per day, hospitals, and health workers were overwhelmed and exhausted across the country [1,2]. As a result, a draconian step needs to be taken. The economic fallout after the pandemic threatens a wave of defaults across the globe, where people are foreseeing the darkened sky of the gloomy evening with a picture of millions being pushed into extreme poverty and famine amidst acute scarcities. With the virus spreading to 220 countries extensively, the human toll in India after the second wave is more than double the number of humans killed over 320 natural disasters during the past two decades [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption in social, economic, political, and educational systems in history. © 2021. Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology