• Kaijin Wang, Xuetong Zhu, and Jiancheng Xu.
• Kaijin Wang and Xuetong Zhu are Postgraduate Research Assistants; and Jiancheng Xu, PhD, is Director and Associate Professor; all with the Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
• Health Secur. 2020 May 1; 18 (3): 232-236.

AbstractSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was first detected in Wuhan, China. Recent studies have updated the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 continuously. In China, diagnostic tests and laboratory tests of specimens from persons under investigation are usually performed in a biosafety level 2 environment. Laboratory staff may be at greater risk of exposure due to a higher concentration and invasiveness of emerging pathogens. Current infection prevention strategies are based on lessons learned from severe acute respiratory syndrome, expert judgments, and related regulations. This article summarizes biosafety prevention and control measures performed in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 testing activities and provides practical suggestions for laboratory staff to avoid laboratory-acquired infections in dealing with public health emergencies.

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