Results of the Portuguese EQA program for molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2, in 2020

Abstract

The initial strategy for containing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 was the prompt identification of COVID-19 cases, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). These recommendations demanded an expansion of the laboratory capacity to implement the testing procedures to detect SARS-CoV-2. In March 2020, the Portuguese National External Quality Assessment Program (PNAEQ) with the collaboration of the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) implemented a pilot round of External Quality Assessment program (EQA) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus by molecular methods and with the WHO collaboration on the second round. The aim of this work is to report the results of the implementation of a national external quality assessment program for the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio