FDA okays emergency use of coronavirus test

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week issued an emergency use authorization to make the agency’s 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel available to qualified labs throughout the United States. According to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news release, the test “provides presumptive detection of 2019-nCoV from respiratory secretions, such as nasal or oral swabs.” Currently, there are no commercially FDA-approved diagnostic tests to detect 2019-nCoV available. (FDA news release, 2/4/20)