On Mar. 5, 2020, Quest Diagnostics announced it will launch a coronavirus (COVID-19) test service. The new test service was planned to aid the presumptive detection of nucleic acid in respiratory specimens of patients meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) clinical criteria for COVID-19 testing.

The new test service was to be provided, pending review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under emergency use authorization which the company submitted per FDA guidance within 15 days of clinical testing. The test is a molecular based assay which detects viral RNA in respiratory specimens.