Table 1.

Dynamic model for surgical activity during COVID-19 pandemic

Scenario	Census	Resources	Surgical activity
Emergency	> 75% COVID-19-related admissions (ward and ICU)	Significant impact on hospital, healthcare workers and ICU beds Limited ICU and ventilation resources, limited OR resources or a rapid infection increase in the hospital	Emergencies where the patient will not survive unless intervened within the next few hours after a preoperative triage is done by the ethics committee
High level alert	50–75% COVID-19-related admissions (ward and ICU)	Significant impact on hospital, healthcare workers and ICU beds	Emergencies
Medium level alert	25–50% COVID-19-related admissions (ward and ICU)	Impact on hospital resources with pandemic alertness in the hospital with appropriate separate triage in the ER for respiratory symptoms vs non respiratory symptoms ICU beds and wards reserved for COVID-19 patients	Oncologic patients where a lack of treatment would compromise their 3 month’s survival Oncologic patients who cannot receive neoadjuvant treatment to slow progression of disease Oncologic patients who will not require prolonged ICU stay Emergencies
Low level alert	5–25% COVID-19-related admissions (ward and ICU)	No impact on hospital resources but with pandemic alertness in the hospital with appropriate separate triage in the ER for respiratory symptoms vs non respiratory symptoms	Oncologic patients (If an increase in the infection curve is suspected, use “medium level” scenario for oncological surgical activity) Emergencies
Almost normal	< 5% COVID-19-related admissions, without ongoing urgent necessities	No impact on hospital resources	No impact on normal activity