PRIORITIES FOR COVID-19 TESTING
(Nucleic Acid or Antigen)
High Priority
- Hospitalized patients with symptoms
- Healthcare facility workers, workers in congregate living settings, and first responders with symptoms
- Residents in long-term care facilities or other congregate living settings, including prisons and shelters, with symptoms
Priority
- Persons with symptoms of potential COVID-19 infection, including: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, new loss of taste or smell, vomiting or diarrhea, and/or sore throat.
- Persons without symptoms who are prioritized by health departments or clinicians, for any reason, including but not limited to: public health monitoring, sentinel surveillance, or screening of other asymptomatic individuals according to state and local plans.
Clinicians considering diagnostic testing of people with possible COVID-19 should continue to work with their local and state health departments to coordinate testing through public health laboratoriesexternal icon, or work with commercial or clinical laboratories using diagnostic tests authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Clinicians should use their judgment to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and whether the patient should be tested. Asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been reported. Most patients with confirmed COVID-19 have developed fever1 and/or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing) but some people may present with other symptoms as well. Other considerations that may guide testing are epidemiologic factors such as the occurrence of local community transmission of COVID-19 in a jurisdiction. Clinicians are encouraged to test for other causes of respiratory illness.
Other considerations that may guide testing are epidemiologic factors such as known exposure to an individual who has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and the occurrence of local community transmission or transmission within a specific setting/facility (e.g., nursing homes) of COVID-19. Clinicians are strongly encouraged to test for other causes of respiratory illness, for example influenza, in addition to testing for SARS-CoV-2. Another population in which to prioritize testing of minimally symptomatic and even asymptomatic persons are long-term care facility residents, especially in facilities where one or more other residents have been diagnosed with symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19.
SARS-CoV-2 can cause asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and minimally symptomatic infections, leading to viral shedding that may result in transmission to others who are particularly vulnerable to severe disease and death. Even mild signs and symptoms (e.g., sore throat) of COVID-19 should be evaluated among potentially exposed healthcare personnel, due to their extensive and close contact2 with vulnerable patients in healthcare settings. Additional information is available in CDC’s Interim U.S. Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Healthcare Personnel with Potential Exposure in a Healthcare Setting to Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Recommendations for Viral Testing, Specimen Collection, and Reporting
Updated May 3, 2020
Clinicians should immediately implement recommended infection prevention and control practices, including use of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), if a patient is suspected of having COVID-19. They should also notify infection control personnel at their healthcare facility if a patient is classified as a Patient Under Investigation (PUI) for COVID-19.
For diagnostic testing for COVID-19 see the Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens from PUIs for COVID-19 and Biosafety FAQs for handling and processing specimens from possible cases and PUIs.
Clinicians should report positive test results to their local or state health department only.
Recommendations for Antibody Testing
Updated May 25, 2020
CDC does not recommend using antibody testing to diagnose acute infection. It is recommended to use a viral (nucleic acid or antigen) test to diagnose acute infection.
Source: https://tools.cdc.gov/api/embed/downloader/download.asp?m=403372&c=404357
