Existing reporting systems and surveys give biased estimates of the true prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the development of these rates over time. Little is known on progression of the disease in persons who are already identified as infected. Finally, the number of deaths due to the infection (not during the infection) is also unknown. We describe data requirements for epidemiological and social research and give details of the sampling and fieldwork procedures required for different types of studies.