We, therefore, reviewed the evidence from studies reporting data on viral culture or isolation as well as reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), to understand more about how the PCR results reflect infectivity

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the name of the illness caused by the new strain of coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Diagnostic tests detect either the genetic material (RNA) of the virus or viral proteins (antigens) in a sample from the respiratory tract. COVID-19 serologic blood tests detect antibodies produced in response to the SARS-CoV-2infection.