An instrument capable of testing for the Covid-19 virus was donated by Dr Domann’s laboratory to the testing cooperative established between Mercy Hospital and UIHC. The Applied Biosystems 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR Instrument is one of a small number of units available in the College of Medicine inventory capable of performing the kind of analysis needed to identify the gene sequence to test for Covid-19. This Mercy/UIHC partnership allows for more widespread and rapid testing for the virus to be performed by state sanctioned laboratories while shifting the testing burden from the Iowa State Hygienic laboratory.