Lal BK, Prasad NK, Englum BR, et al. - Reports described increased 30-day mortality and pulmonary complications following emergency surgery performed soon after a COVID-19 infection that are not controlled for premorbid risk-factors. Hence, a virtual cessation of elective surgery was made during the pandemic surge. Researchers here compared 30-day outcomes in patients testing positive for COVID-19 before their operation, to contemporary propensity-matched COVID-19 negative patients undergoing the same procedures, with the aim to inform evidence-based guidance on the decisions for surgery during the recovery phase of the pandemic. From 170 Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals across the United States, they identified 449 COVID-19 positive and 51,238 negative patients for inclusion in this prospective multicentre study. Performing propensity matching, 432 COVID-19 positive and 1,256 negative patients were assessed among whom half underwent elective surgery. Relative to propensity score matched negative patients, COVID-19 positive patients had increased 30-day pulmonary, septic, and ischaemic complications. Persistence of odds for several complications was observed despite a delay beyond 10 days after testing positive. They recommend considering individualized risk-stratification by pulmonary and atherosclerotic comorbidities when making decisions for delaying surgery in infected patients.