Gopalan, P.D.Joubert, I.A.Paruk, FathimaBaker, D.Coetzee, Isabella M.De Vasconcellos, K.Dolo, L.M.Levy, B.L.Morrow, B.M.Nel, J.M.Omar, S.Piercy, P.L.Siebert, R.S.Veldsman, L.2021-09-082021-09-082020-08Gopalan, P.D., Joubert, I.A., Paruk, F. et al. 2020, 'The Critical Care Society of Southern Africa guidelines on the allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency in South Africa', South African Medical Journal, vol. 110, no. 8, pp. 700-703.0256-9574 (print)2078-5135 (online)10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i8.15000http://hdl.handle.net/2263/81716We thank Singh and Moodley for their detailed commentary on the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA) guidelines on ‘Allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency in South Africa’ (hereinafter ‘CCSSA 2020’). Their article highlights the lack of a uniform blueprint for triage guidelines across the world. This lack is driven, to a large extent, by clinical ethical decision-making that is confounded by, inter alia, varying clinical experience, diverse personal values, differing legal frameworks, a multitude of guidelines from professional organisations, and unique social contexts. Consequently, guidelines may differ between organisations and between countries.en© 2020 Health & Medical Publishing Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Works License (CC BY-NC 3.0).EmergencyCOVID-19 pandemicCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)South Africa (SA)Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA)Critical care resourcesPublic health emergencyHealth sciences articles SDG-03SDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle