Laboratory testing strategy recommendations for COVID-19: interim guidance

Overview

Diagnostic testing for COVID-19 is critical to tracking the virus, understanding epidemiology, informing case management, and to suppressing transmission. This document describes the strategic use of diagnostic testing in different transmission scenarios of the COVID-19 outbreak, from no cases to community transmission, including how testing might be rationalized when lack of reagents or testing capacity necessitates prioritization of certain populations or individuals for testing.

Previous version: 

Laboratory testing of 2019 novel coronavirus (‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎2019-nCoV)‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ in suspected human cases: interim guidance  (17 January 2020)

Updated version 25 June 2021:

Recommendations for national SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies and diagnostic capacities