The WHO deemed on March 11, 2020 that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. Per available data on October 6, 2020, there have been 35, 347, 404 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1, 039, 406 deaths; however, even this staggering figure is likely to be an underestimate (WHO dashboard). The COVID-19 pandemic has strained national health systems, leading to a health catastrophe and imposing an extraordinary socioeconomic burden. The WHO has set forth a series of targeted immediate actions that countries can take to maintain access to essential health services. The effort to scale COVID-19 testing by orders of magnitude may be facilitated through the use of several molecular tools. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.