Screening of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction tests using saliva for pregnant women and their partners in Himeji city

A screening of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests using saliva for pregnant women and their partners was performed at all 12 maternity facilities located in Himeji city between May 29 and September 5, 2020. Pregnant women at 37 or more weeks of gestation or who experienced threatened labor and their partners who cared for an infant underwent a saliva PCR test with informed consent. As a result, all of 1475 pregnant women and 1343 partners tested negative for COVID-19 PCR. There were no cases of false positive or false negative PCR tests. This cohort study revealed for the first time that a screening of COVID-19 PCR tests using saliva may be useful to sustain perinatal medical care during the pandemic period in Japan.