The success of the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) during the COVID-19 outbreak depends largely on the quality of the specimen and the conditions under which the specimen is transported and stored before being processed in the laboratory. The RT-qPCR diagnosis of COVID-19 requires nasopharyngeal swab specimens. This sample is then deposited in viral transport medium (VTM). There are two main …