SAS has produced its first set of guidelines, to promote the safety of patients and front-line workers during airway management and tracheal intubation in the COVD-19 outbreak.

The Consensus Statement was produced on a tight schedule due to the rapidly evolving crisis in Australia an New Zealand.

We are grateful to the MJA for putting the Statement up so quickly, and also to all the people who have commented on the publication. Several improvements have been made as a result, and the document will continue to be updated as the COVID-19 situation evolves.  

The Statement has been recommended by the Covid-19 Critical Care Coordination Collaborative (Presidents of ANZCA, ACEM, CICM, ANZICS, ASA, NZSA and the Chair of CICM NZNC) and endorsed by the following organisations:

• Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS)
• Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN)
• Australasian College of Paramedicine (ACP)
• College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (CICM)
• Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA)
• Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM)
• New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA)
• Australian College of Perianaesthesia Nurses (ACPAN)
• New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians' Society (NZATS)
• Western Australia Airway Group (WAAG)
• Australian Anaesthesia Allied Health Practitioners (AAAHP)
• Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (ASOHNS)
• New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (NZSOHNS)

We are grateful to the team at RNS ASCAR for the infographics that accompany the Statement.