During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, design, development, validation, verification and implementation of diagnostic tests were actively addressed by a large number of diagnostic test manufacturers. Hundreds of molecular tests and immunoassays were rapidly developed, albeit many still awaiting clinical validation and formal approval. In this review, recently published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, the authors summarise the crucial role of diagnostic tests during the first global wave of COVID-19 exploring the technical and implementation problems encountered during this early phase in the pandemic, and trying to define future directions for the progressive and better use of (syndromic) diagnostics during a possible resurgence of COVID-19 in future global waves or regional outbreaks. Indeed, continuous global improvement in diagnostic test preparedness is essential for more rapid detection of patients, possibly at the point of care, and for optimised prevention and treatment, in both industrialised countries and low-resource settings.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-020-00461-z