Conclusions
Head and neck cancer is an important public health problem in India. The current COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented situation in human history, with massive disruption of health care activities. In India, the treatment of HNC patients has been severely disrupted, with increased waiting times, patient anxiety and potentially worse patient outcomes. With the disruption likely to continue for the foreseeable future, we believe that lockdown measures may be appropriately amended to suit local needs. Patients need to be directed to alternative treatment facilities, separate from a COVID-19 facility. Pre-operative screening for COVID-19, availability of PPE and isolation of suspected patients will act as confidence builders for healthcare teams treating cancer patients during these challenging times. In the absence of clear views on the future trends of this pandemic, all measures must be taken to prevent patients with non-COVID diseases coming to harm.