No one anticipated that the novel coronavirus, first reported in China in December 2019,
would become a global pandemic and alter the way our world works, forever. In India, the
out break of SARS-CoV-2 blatantly exposed the vulnerabilities of our healthcare system, with the scarcity of hospital beds being a major concern during the first two waves of the viral infection.

Niti Aayog reports that 65% of hospital beds in India cater to 50% of the population, while the other half is dependent on the remaining 35% of hospital beds. This is brought on by pronounced regional disparities in India's healthcare system.[1] There are stark differences in healthcare infrastructure development between urban and rural areas, as well as between different states. According to the Human Development Index 2020, India has merely 5 hospital beds and 8.6 physicians per 10,000 people. The country ranks only 155th on the Global Health Index. [2] With a population of more than 1.38 billion, India's healthcare infrastructure is woefully inadequate.

Due to a severe shortage of hospital beds, as well as to ease overcrowding in hospitals,
many patients were advised to use homecare services during . . .