Surgical services are adapting to mitigate the surge in patients with COVID‐19 in need of critical care support. All non‐essential elective surgery has been cancelled, or is pending cancellation, in healthcare systems around the globe, impacting millions of patients. The postpandemic phase will require re‐establishment of surgical services, and capacity building to restore normalcy and to appropriately reduce the backlog of cases by priority. A framework for evaluation and a plan to incorporate surgical care into the WHO strategies for national health plans and pandemic mitigation is urgently needed.

Preparing for the next wave