09/19/2020: Lab Advisory: COVID-19 ELR Flat File for Laboratory Data Reporting

CDC's Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS)

Audience: Clinical Laboratory Professionals

Level: Laboratory Advisory

CDC, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) collaborated with federal and private sector partners to create a standardized electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) flat file as an option to report the required COVID-19 laboratory data elements under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the HHS Lab Data Reporting Guidance released on June 4, 2020. COVID-19 testing sites may use this file to uniformly report to state health departments. Laboratories that are successfully reporting electronically to state or local health departments do not need to change their process for reporting to public health.

The HHS guidance requires every COVID-19 testing site to report specific data elements for every COVID-19 test (e.g., molecular, antigen) performed. The data are to be reported to the appropriate state, local, tribal, or territorial health department, based on the tested individual’s residence.

Online resources:

For more information, visit the Clinical Laboratory COVID-19 Response Call website.

For questions, please contact us at LOCS@cdc.gov.

Thank you,

The Laboratory Outreach Communication System

Laboratory Outreach Communication System | Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS)

Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

LOCS@cdc.gov