Introduction

In 2019 a novel human pathogenic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in Wuhan, China [1], leading to a worldwide outbreak, declared a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 [2] and a pandemic on 11 March 2020 [3].
SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-stranded RNA virus from the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, Sarbecovirus subgenus, genus Betacoronavirus, family Coronaviridae. The species contains a wide range of bat and human viruses including SARS-CoV that caused an outbreak in 2002/2003. The SARS-CoV-2 origins are still unknown, but zoonotic transmission, with bats (in particular Rhinolophus spp.) as the probable primary reservoir and other animals as intermediate hosts, is considered the most likely route [4, 5].
In the context of the current pandemic, rapid and reliable laboratory diagnosis is essential for detection, confirmation, and ruling out of cases, clinical management and hospital infection prevention measures, source and contact tracing, and (lifting of) isolation measures. Laboratory testing plays a critical role in surveillance to guide public health response. Nucleic acid amplification tests became the first line of COVID-19 testing recommended by WHO [6]. Serological tests are increasingly being implemented [7, 8].
Here, we reviewed the current knowledge on the laboratory aspects of COVID-19 diagnostics with a focus on SARS-CoV-2 molecular assays to support the laboratory response for clinical case management and to inform Public Health control.