Stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a swab of saliva mixed with eNAT (A) or saliva diluted 1:2 with eNAT (B).

Saliva samples were spiked with SARS-CoV-2 virus at 5X the LOD (0.05 PFU/ml) and maintained at 4°C, 28°C (room temperature) and 35°C. The samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR at 0, 4, 24, 48 and 168 hours. The samples kept at 35°C were tested at 0, 24 and 48 hours. N2 gene cycle threshold (Ct) values are shown. Four replicates were performed for each condition and results are expressed as mean±SD. ns-not statistically significant. P<0.05 is considered statistically significant.