Background, testing methods, and laboratory approaches to SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Covid19

Introduction: A pandemic is an epidemic occurring worldwide, crossing international boundaries and affecting many people. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 from Hubei province in China globally has led to rapid changes in our approaches to diagnosis, with rapid use of molecular methods such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) to characterise mutations, and deployment of novel therapeutics including mRNA vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.