COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) recommendations for surgical procedures. Leadership towards elective surgery

In late December 2019, COVID-19, a new emerging disease, quickly spread in Wuhan, China. The WHO formally declared it a pandemic and a health emergency on March 11th, 2020. The objective of this article is to specify and list key points in relation to the recommendations issued by the different colleges, and global surgical societies, for the benefit of the Mexican medical and surgical community. Based on scientific evidence, we make recommendations for medical consultations, surgical and endoscopic procedures, hospital infrastructure, and surgical services, in addition to a proposal to reopen surgical services and elective procedures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The time to take leadership in healthcare where the national health system together with academic societies, universities and private initiative join forces to combat the pandemic has arrived. It is convenient to form collaboration groups of experts in the different specialties that through innovation in health and education, with evidence-based medicine, efficiency of operational costs and tools such as telemedicine, allow us to return to daily surgical procedures, reestablishing the surgery services as soon as possible.