Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a well-known complication in immunocompromised patients and is encountered frequently in haematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplant recipients [2]. Continued improvement in diagnostics has revealed that half of the cases of IPA occur in the ICU, in patients who are often non-neutropenic [3, 4]. Severe influenza infection is a well-known risk factor for developing IPA in non-neutropenic patients; a syndrome termed influenza-associated aspergillosis (IAA) [4–6]. A damaged respiratory epithelium, dysfunctional mucociliary clearance and a local immune paralysis were demonstrated to be key pathophysiological factors [4]. Supported by the hypothesis that alveolar damage facilitates fungal invasion, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has frequently been associated with IPA in the ICU [6]. With this in mind, the existence of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis is deemed likely.