This document outlines minimum requirements of laboratory testing for COVID-19 and link laboratory testing with surveillance and contact tracing to guide the outbreak response by national health authorities using a reduced number of tests performed. The strategies are organized according to stages of transmission: (‎1)‎ No cases reported or observed (‎Stage 0)‎; (‎2)‎ Imported cases (‎Stage 1)‎; (‎3)‎ Localized community transmission (‎Stage 2)‎; (‎4)‎ Large-scale community transmission (‎Stage 3)‎. For each stage, the recommended approaches indicate which testing strategy to prioritize when there are severe limitations on laboratory testing. The document is based on the current epidemiology of COVID-19 and available molecular testing methods.