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1. BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), emerged only a few months ago in China, is now a global pandemic (see Figures​ 1 and​ 2). The significant medical complications, morbidity and the rapid international spread have led to the swift adoption of important public health and political measures across the world. Most countries have chosen to isolate positive cases and those they are in close contact with, and to limit social interactions to reduce transmission. The overall consequences of COVID‐19 on health, humanitarian and economic domains remain unknown. As of April 15, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 1,914,916 confirmed cases of infection (with 123,010 deaths) extending to almost all countries across the globe (https://www. who. int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200415-sitrep-86-covid-19. pdf? sfvrsn= c615ea20_2).