Fungal disease consistent with invasive aspergillosis has been observed with other severe coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 2003 [4, 5] and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus [6]. From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were warning signs of secondary invasive fungal infection. Aspergillus flavus was isolated from the respiratory tract in one out of 99 patients in the first COVID-19 cohort from Wuhan, China to be reported in any detail [2] and Aspergillus spp. were isolated from two (3.8%) out of 52 patients in a subsequent cohort of critically unwell patients from this region [7]. More recently, retrospective case series from Belgium [8], France [9], The Netherlands [10] and Germany [11] have reported evidence of CAPA in an alarming 20–35% of mechanically ventilated patients.