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Specimen Type and Priority Collecting and Handling Specimens Safely Handling Bulk-Packaged Sterile Swabs Properly General Guidelines Respiratory Specimens Storage Shipping Additional Resources Summary of Recent Changes As of December 18, 2020 Clarification on the use of sterile swabs for upper respiratory specimen collection to preserve patient safety and specimen integrity View Previous Updates Healthcare providers* and health department staff considering ordering testing of people with possible infection of SARS-CoV-2 should work with their state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments to coordinate testing through public health laboratories, or work with commercial or clinical laboratories using molecular and antigen tests The type of specimen collected is based on the test you’re using and its manufacturer’s instructions Some of the specimen types listed below will not be appropriate for all tests CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but decisions about who should be tested are at the discretion of STLT health departments and/or healthcare providers Testing for other pathogens by the provider should be done as part of the initial evaluation, as indicated, but should not delay testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 All SARS-CoV-2 test results, including positives, negatives and inconclusive findings, should be reported to the STLT health department Read CDC’s Data and Reporting FAQ for Laboratories Clinical laboratories should NOT attempt viral isolation from specimens collected from people suspected to have COVID-19 unless this is performed in a BSL-3 laboratory
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