Table 1.

Characteristics of Different Direct Tests for SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 Test	Identification	Specimen	Specific Infrastructural Requirement	Optimal Timing for Testing (Days)	Turnaround Time (minutes)	Se (%)	Sp (%)
rt-PCR	RNA	nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs and/or lower respiratory specimen	Yes	At least 2 days after infection until negativization	190	≃89*	99**
RT-LAMP	RNA	nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs and/or lower respiratory specimen	Yes	At least 2 days after infection until negativization	45–60	comparable to rt-PCR	comparable to rt-PCR
NP antigen detection test	Antigen (Ag) of SARS-CoV-2	nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs and/or lower respiratory specimen	Yes	At least 2 days after infection until negativization	240	70–86**	95–97**

Abbreviations: rt-PCR, real time-protein chain reaction; RT-LAMP, reverse-transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification; NP, nucleoprotein; Se, sensitivity; Sp, specificity. * Data from meta-analysis; ** Data declared by producer.