The fear of being alone in hospital is another barrier in seeking healthcare, and as the number of infected individuals increases within a community, more information on this “loneliness” is perceived and feared. Indeed, some have reported that the concern and anxiety of being discriminated against delay the presentation to healthcare services, and delayed diagnosis is associated with more severe disease, mainly in the elderly and in vulnerable groups ( 4). Dying alone is not justifiable, even in times of infection with a pandemic virus, particularly when the impact of imposing such a radical measure on the course of the epidemic is, at least, questionable. The pandemic has sufficiently disrupted and impaired people's livelihood worldwide, and every effort to prevent any additional suffering must be made. However, as the disease spreads through a community, suffering deepens due to strict procedures that, arguably, may be questioned from an ethical standpoint. Management guidelines are continuously updated based on emerging findings ( 3). Discourse and measures have been discussed focused on lockdown strategies, healthcare policies ( 2), application of emerging treatments, accelerated clinical trials, among others. The pandemic has caused universal psychosocial impact ( 1) and global economic disruption. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” on January 30th, 2020, and recognized its pandemic status on March 11th. The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been striking the world since it was first identified in December 2019 in China.
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