Evaluating direct amplification from viral transport medium for SARS-CoV-2 detection, strain typing, and angiotensin-converting enzyme genotyping and expression assays.

Direct amplification of viral nucleic acid from viral transport medium containing nasopharyngeal specimen works well for molecular assays with low thresholds of quality; however, it does have limitations with assays that require high quality nucleic acid for input. Use of the XpressAmp protocol significantly improves turnaround time and allows for easy ramp-up of PCR and genotyping assays.