The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its COVID-19 testing priority guidance, which gives first priority to testing hospitalized patients and symptomatic health care workers. The agency also updated its interim guidelines for collecting, handling, and testing COVID-19 clinical specimens to allow for self- or health care worker-collected nasal or nasal turbinate swabs if nasopharyngeal swab is not possible.

Testing guidance can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-criteria.html and interim guidelines at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/lab/guidelines-clinical-specimens.html.