A new study suggests that 75% of a city’s rapid test every 3 days could ‘move the epidemic toward destruction’ within 6 weeks

• Mass and frequent rapid testing for COVID-19 can cause a large number of infections within six weeks, a new study suggests.
• “Our big picture discovery is that in terms of public health, it’s better to have a less sensitive test with results today than a more sensitive test with results tomorrow,” said Daniel Lauremore, a professor of computer science at Boulder University in Colorado. Author of the study.
• Testing 75% of a city’s population every three days will reduce infections by 88%, which is “enough to move the epidemic toward destruction within six weeks.”
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Boulder, a new study by researchers at the Harvard TH San School of Public Health and the University of Colorado, says that a rapid mass test for COVID-19 – especially in people who do not show signs of infection – could end the infection within six weeks.

Published in the November 20 issue of the co-reviewed Science Advance, Study Rapid testing, however, suggests that public health officials will be able to trust more targeted interventions if they are used more economically than locks, even if they are less reliable.

Rapid tests can provide results in minutes rather than days associated with lower cost and laboratory types. If half of the U.S. population is tested weekly, with those testing positive isolation from others, the impact could be enormous, the researchers said.

“Our big picture discovery is that in terms of public health, it’s better to have a less sensitive test today than a more sensitive test with tomorrow’s results,” said Daniel Lauremore, professor of computer science and lead author at CU Boulder, the study said Friday. “Rather than telling everyone to stay home, you can be sure that someone who is sick will not spread it. We can only place orders to stay home for infections so that everyone else can talk about their lives.”

According to the study, based on mathematical modeling, rapid testing of three-quarters of a city every three days eventually reduced the number of victims by 88%, “enough to move the epidemic toward extinction within six weeks.”

“These rapid tests are infectious tests,” said Michael Mina, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard and co – author of the study. “They can be very effective in diagnosing COVID-19 when people are infected.”

Increasing the availability of “cheap, quick tests” is one of the key strategies being considered by President-elect Joe Biden. Politico released the news on Friday.

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