What kind of procedures should be performed in biosafety level (BSL)-2 and -3 laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Personal protective equipment (PPE) must be used when collecting biological samples. Biological samples collected on-site from suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients (e.g. antibody assays, RNA isolation, flow cytometry) should be processed following BSL-2 practices. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the usage of BSL-2 facilities is mandatory for all newly arriving patient samples to prevent spreading the disease. Research procedures involving SARS-CoV-2 isolation or culture should be conducted in a BSL-3 facility.108,113