AAS Open Research Open Peer Review Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. OPEN LETTER Current and emerging diagnostic tests available for the novel COVID-19 global pandemic [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] Gerald Mboowa 1,2 The African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data-Intensive Sciences, The Infectious Disease Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Abstract On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the status of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak from epidemic to a global pandemic. This infection is caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Several rapid diagnostic tests have been developed at an astonishing pace; however, COVID-19 requires more highly specific rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. This review describes the currently available testing approaches, as well as the available test assays including the Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test (takes 45 min) and Abbott ID COVID-19 test (5 min) as easy to use point-of-care tests for diagnosis of novel COVID-19 that have so far received the US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations clearance. This review is correct as of the date published and will be updated as more diagnostic tests come to light. Keywords Coronavirus, COVID-19, diagnosis, genome sequencing, SARS-CoV-2, Point-of-Care test This article is included in the Coronavirus collection. (COVID-19) 1,2 1 2 Reviewer Status Invited Reviewers version 1 24 Apr 2020 1 2 report report , Linkoping University, Anthony Mukwaya Linköping, Sweden 1 , University of Health Stephen E. Mshana and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, Tanzania 2 24 Apr 2020, :8 First published: 3 https://doi.org/10.12688/aasopenres.13059.1 24 Apr 2020, :8 Latest published: 3 https://doi.org/10.12688/aasopenres.13059.1 v1 ~ Page 1 of 10 AAS Open Research 2020, 3:8 Last updated: 03 JUN 2020