Table 1.
List of specimen panels for round 1, 2 and 3 of SARS-CoV-2 proficiency testing program
| Round | RCPAQAP sample ID | Type of specimen | Copy number (copies per mL) | NAT SARS-CoV-2 specific genes | Final interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Mar 2020) | S1 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (high viral load) | 8.5×107 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive |
| S2 | Synthetic DNA fragment of SARS-CoV-2 N & E genes | 4.5×107 | N & E positive | SARS-CoV-2 presumptive positive | |
| S3 | Negative sample (diluted MDCK cells) | NA | All negative | SARS-CoV-2 negative | |
| S4 | Synthetic DNA fragment of SARS-CoV-2 N & E genes | 4.3×102 | N & E positive | SARS-CoV-2 presumptive positive | |
| S5 | Synthetic DNA fragment of SARS-CoV-2 N & E genes | 2.1×104 | N & E positive | SARS-CoV-2 presumptive positive | |
| 2 (May 2020) | S6 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (medium viral load) | 5.0×105 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive |
| S7 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (high viral load) | 3.5×107 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive | |
| S8 | Synthetic DNA fragment of SARS-CoV-2 E gene | 3.4×107 | E positive | SARS-CoV-2 presumptive positive | |
| S9 | Negative sample (diluted MDCK cells) | NA | All negative | SARS-CoV-2 negative | |
| S10 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (low viral load) | 9.4×103 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive | |
| 3 (Nov 2020) | S11 | Negative sample (diluted MDCK cells) | NA | All negative | SARS-CoV-2 negative |
| S12 | Diluted hCoV-229E (medium viral load) | 6.3×104 | All negative | SARS-CoV-2 negative | |
| S13 | Diluted hCoV-229E (high viral load) | 3.4×106 | All negative | SARS-CoV-2 negative | |
| S14 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (low viral load) | 5.4×103 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive | |
| S15 | Diluted SARS-CoV-2 (medium viral load) | 3.0×105 | All positive | SARS-CoV-2 positive |
E, envelope; N, nucleocapsid; NA, not applicable.