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More detail on the CRISPR test: 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity...

SHERLOCK-based one-step test provides rapid and sensitive COVID-19 detection

https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2020/05/05/sherlock-based-one-step-test-provides-rapid-and-sensitive-covid-19-detection/

How it works
The STOPCovid test combines CRISPR enzymes, programmed to recognize signatures of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with complementary amplification reagents. This combination allows detection of as few as 100 copies of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a sample. As a result, the STOPCovid test allows for rapid, accurate, and highly sensitive detection of COVID-19 that can be conducted outside clinical laboratory settings.

STOPCovid has been tested on patient nasopharyngeal swab in parallel with clinically-validated tests. In these head-to-head comparisons, STOPCovid detected infection with 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Results appear on an easy-to-read strip that is akin to a pregnancy test, in the absence of any expensive or specialized lab equipment. Moreover, the researchers spiked mock SARS-CoV-2 genomes into healthy saliva samples and showed that STOPCovid is capable of sensitive detection from saliva, which would obviate the need for swabs in short supply and potentially make sampling much easier.

“The test aims to ultimately be simple enough that anyone can operate it in low-resource settings, including in clinics, pharmacies, or workplaces, and it could potentially even be put into a turn-key format for use at home,” says Abudayyeh.

Gootenberg adds, “Since STOPCovid can work in less than an hour and does not require any specialized equipment, and if our preliminary results from testing synthetic virus in saliva bear out in patient samples, it could address the need for scalable testing to reopen our society.”

Possible MOA from similar CRISPR test by Mammoth Bioscience...

Scientists tap CRISPR’s search-and-detect skills to create a rapid Covid-19 test

https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-test-crispr-mammoth-biosciences/

Like existing coronavirus tests being used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and clinicians around the country, the new test requires that a provider swabs suspected coronavirus-positive patients deep in the back of their throat or nose.

Once the genetic material on the swabs is isolated and amplified in a test tube with a liquid solution, CRISPR gets to work. Using a protein called Cas-12, along with bits of viral genetic material designed to help guide it, CRISPR homes in on two coronavirus genes in the sample: what’s known as the coronavirus N gene, which the CDC’s tests detect, and the so-called E gene, which the World Health Organization’s tests are designed to spot.

“We picked both to develop a very robust test,” said Martin. “You could use one alone, but we’re really setting the bar high here.”

If and when it finds the genes, the tool starts cutting, prompting a reaction which changes color on the dipstick — somewhat akin to how a pregnancy test works. The process is faster and less resource-intensive than traditional PCR-based tests, which require sophisticated equipment and hours of labor.