2. Set up clean, dry transport tubes, each marked with a unique patient ID.
3. Ask the patient to blow their nose in order to eliminate any excess mucus.
4. Carefully open the nasal swab from the test kit, ensuring that you hold it by the shaft without touching the swab tip.
5. Gently insert the foam swab tip about 1 inch into the patient's nostril. While inside, rotate the swab several times against the inner nasal wall before extracting it.
6. Put each swab tip facing downwards into a separate clean, dry transport tube labeled with the corresponding patient ID. The swabs must be tested within a 48-hour window.