ABSTRACT
Virologists working in large diagnostic laboratories in South Africa give insights into testing in a pandemic. As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds, several factors have come to the fore as particularly relevant. Rather than give an overview of current testing guidelines and practices which are prone to change over time, and in any case, for which good reviews are available, the study instead wants to list some of the pertinent issues encountered in South Africa, the African country first and so far worst hit by the pandemic, and some proposed solutions. Clear and up-to-date guidance is needed and must be followed by all role players, including different spheres of government. In South Africa for example, some official governmental recommendations have not been aligned with national Department of Health guidance, and for example, required negative PCR test results before an individual who had Covid-19 was allowed back to their workplace. Such unnecessary requirements serve no purpose but increase the burden on laboratories and interfere with testing of clinically and epidemiologically relevant samples. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic spreads, laboratory staff will become infected, too;their infection risk is not exposure to specimens (provided some simple precautions are being followed) but instead to the community and also colleagues. Therefore, the same rules will have to be followed as in all workplaces, including universal wearing of non-medical (cloth) masks, physical distancing, improved hand hygiene, regular cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, etc.