Abstract

Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to laboratory diagnosis, based on the amplification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. With global contagion figures exceeding 4 million persons, the shortage of reagents for RNA extraction represents a bottleneck for testing globally. We present the validation results for an RT-qPCR protocol without prior RNA extraction. Due to its simplicity, this protocol is suitable for widespread application in resource-limited settings.