General Laboratory Safety Precaution Standards for COVID-19 Laboratory

In the face of COVID-19, the general laboratory standard precautions that must be strictly followed include:

1. All staff wear gloves when handling any specimen.
2. Staff wear face shields when handling of uncap specimens to prevent splashing or contact with specimen droplets or aerosols generated by uncapping tubes.
3. Specimens from suspected or known COVID-19 cases are centrifuged in closed centrifuges and utilize caps on the carriers.
4. Staff avoid pipetting, diluting, and vortexing in the open laboratory (instead conducting these procedures behind plexiglass barriers or in a biosafety cabinet).
5. All manufacturer covers should be in place during equipment operation and the analyser tops should be kept closed until the analyser is placed in pause or stop mode. The reagents should be refilled only when the analyser is in standby and staff are less likely to be exposed to aerosols.