12/03/2020: Lab Advisory: CDC Publishes New Guidance for Expanded Screening Testing to Reduce Silent Spread of SARS-CoV-2

Audience: Clinical Laboratory Professionals

Level: Laboratory Advisory

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, CDC published a new Guidance for Expanded Screening Testing to Reduce Silent Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Web page. Refer to this new guidance for the following updates:

• Considerations for groups to be prioritized for expanded screening testing
• Indicators for levels of incidence and test positivity (past seven days) in local communities that can help guide geographic surge testing and frequency
• Follow-up steps for persons who test positive
• Information about the importance of sustaining and reinforcing principal mitigation measures, including wearing masks, hand hygiene, social distancing, and limiting gatherings outside of the immediate household without significant mitigation efforts

Online resources:

• Guidance for SARS-CoV-2 Point-of-Care Testing
• Interim Guidance for Rapid Antigen Testing for SARS-CoV-2
• Information for Laboratories about COVID-19
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 for Laboratories
• CDC’s Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS)
• Register for CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) notifications, including updates about COVID-19. Enter your email address, search for HAN, and sign up

For questions, please contact us at LOCS@cdc.gov.

Thank you,

The Laboratory Outreach Communication System

Laboratory Outreach Communication System | Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS)

Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

LOCS@cdc.gov

www.cdc.gov/locs