Covid Testing Service
Nobody could have predicted the healthcare crisis 2020 would bring. While the world has certainly seen major health crises in the past several decades, the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise in a way that few other crises have before. As most of the world celebrated the new year in January of 2020, several pneumonia cases emerged in Wuhan, China. Within the first few weeks of January, the World Health Organization started tracking the virus and providing advice, eventually announcing the existence of an illness called COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus.
Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19 is thought to have originated in bats and spread through wet markets in Wuhan, China. The virus causes fever, coughing, shortness of breath, and other symptoms, and when it results in pneumonia, it can lead to death or lasting health complications.
Though the virus can live on surfaces for hours or even days, it’s primarily spread through respiratory droplets during person-to-person contact. Before researchers realized how contagious the virus is, COVID-19 spread rapidly across borders. By early July of 2020, more than 500,000 people had died from COVID-19.
Not every laboratory can dive right into the COVID-19 test procedure. Clinical laboratories need the right permissions, supplies, and COVID-19 testing software to get started. Here’s what you need to know if you plan to open your laboratory to COVID-19 testing.