Ophthalmic care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic focused on urgent pathologies, resulting in the majority of consultations and scheduled elective surgeries being canceled to avoid face-to-face interaction, unless absolutely essential. During the pandemic, while the number of workplace trauma-related ocular emergencies (OEs) may have been reduced due to patients preferring to stay at home, the presentation of other OEs to ophthalmologists also declined considerably due to travel restrictions and economic constraints.[1,2] Yehezkeli et al.[3] compared the emergency ophthalmic visits at Meir Medical Center in Israel in 2019 and during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 15 to April 15, 2020. The authors studied the demographics, chief complaints, referral patterns, examination findings, treatment, surgical interventions, and any surgical interventions needed. A total of 1331 visits of 1158 patients were recorded, of which 477 were during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and 834 were in 2019. Demographics were comparable; however, visual acuity was worse during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic era (0.42 ± 0.6 and 0.34 ± 0.5 in 2020 and 2019, respectively, P = 0.025). The number of emergency procedures was more during 2020 compared to 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic invited more emergent medical treatment also. In conclusion, ophthalmic emergency visits were less frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019. Poyser et al.[4] compared the patients presenting to the emergency eye department (EED) at a tertiary eye center (University Hospitals of Leicester, UK) during the pandemic with those presenting during a similar period in 2019. A total of 852 patients were seen in 2020 compared to 1818 in 2019. They found a 53% reduction in EED visits during the lockdown. Trauma, keratitis, and uveitis were most common during the lockdown, compared to conjunctivitis, trauma, and blepharitis which were more common during 2019. The incidence of retinal tear and detachments was less, and macular retinal detachment detachment was common during the pandemic compared to 2019. The authors concluded that the lockdown significantly impacted ocular pathologies presenting to the emergency, and that COVID-19–containing measures prevented the spread of infections such as conjunctivitis. In this context, the current study highlights that emergency glaucoma care was grossly underutilized by the people during the periods of lockdown, leading to a rebound increase in the number and severity of cases during the unlock period.[2] But there is a flip side of the coin. Previous studies across the globe have shown that what individuals perceive as an emergency may be quite different from OEs defined in ophthalmological guidelines. There is a lack of understanding of the really emergent ocular pathologies among the population. Ophthalmic facilities in Spain showed that more than half the OEs presenting during the pandemic to their hospital were classified as having nonurgent conditions. This study has remarked that several patients with nonemergent conditions do not understand the severity of their pathology, leading to the overutilization of emergency services for trivial conditions.[1] Use of emergency services for nonurgent ocular problems is influenced by younger age, racial/ethnic factors, male sex, and lower income, and may even be habitual.[5] This brings us to a paradox. On the one hand, a large number of those in need of emergency ophthalmic services could not receive them appropriately during pandemic conditions. On the other hand, part of the emergency ophthalmic services available were directed toward the care of patients with nonemergencies. In the author’s experience, this situation is similar to what is encountered outside the pandemic conditions, although the relative proportions of the two groups might be somewhat different.[5] Emergencies cannot be deferred indefinitely, whereas nonemergent conditions should be taken up in routine outpatient departments and must not misuse the ophthalmic emergency facilities.[6] There is a need to postpone the management of nonemergent conditions as much as the need to manage emergent conditions promptly. Thus, a system must be put into place for classifying what is, in fact, an OE and what is not. This system should be accessible, affordable, and readily available for people to consult in case they encounter an ocular ailment that they believe to be urgent. Just like other emergencies, an OE usually requires the following three main steps: immediate triage, patient examination, and downstream orientation.[7] In this context, teleophthalmology may be an answer.[2] A combination of a self-declaration algorithm and video interaction with a primary eye care worker may be utilized through a mobile app for triaging the case, performing a limited ophthalmological examination, and appropriately referring it to the correct level of ophthalmic care.[8] A brief overview of the scope of teleophthalmology in India, as well as guidelines for the adoption of teleophthalmology by Indian ophthalmologists have previously been published in the context of the pandemic.[9,10] What is now essential is for ophthalmological societies to dwell on how to integrate the guidelines into routine teleophthalmological practices to form a system, where real emergencies can be promptly identified and referred, while obviously nonemergent cases could be either managed or referred, but discouraged from coming to emergency rooms. It is also for these societies to liaise with legal experts to delineate potential medicolegal complications that may arise from such practice.[10] Today, the government’s teleconsultation website eSanjeevani is active, apart from privately owned teleconsultation providers and aggregators. The latter has centers dedicated to 36 states and union territories, with services for ophthalmology being provided in most of them.[11] There is a need to expand these services and make people aware of these facilities to lessen the burden on the ophthalmic care system. In summary, as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring us lessons to learn, holding an objective viewpoint for the mitigation and management of emergency ocular conditions will help in the optimum utilization of the ophthalmic health-care framework without compromising the provider and the patient.