The current outbreak of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in
millions of deaths and hospitalizations worldwide, as well as an extreme
impact in our social-economic lives. The emergency to implement public
health measures, such as, social distancing, high levels of testing and
vaccination has shown the importance of continuous research in those
areas. Here it will be presented the most relevant knowledge on the
SARS-CoV-2 genomic features and mechanism that lies beneath its ability
to surpass the immunological system. Moreover, it will be discussed the
virus new variants and the potential impact that they can have on
pathogenic factors and on the detection methods effectiveness. In order
to better manage the pandemic, it is essential to maintain continuous
research into the SARS-CoV-2 genome and a strict real-time genomic
surveillance at the global level. This will allow the scientific
community to understand the evolution of the virus and track the
emergence of new mutations, which may affect the performance of COVID-19
tests. In this sense, the technologies developed for SARS-CoV-2
detection and their advantages and limitations will be fully explored.