As most countries are moving past the first wave of COVID-19, policymakers have recognized the need for mass testing of the population, to limit further outbreaks. The high transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 (Ro=3-6, depending on various estimates), including wide-spread transmissions from presymptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, means that testing and isolation of only the cases with symptoms will not be effective. What is needed is “extensive surveillance or a sentinel, as it's called, testing regime, so beyond just those who are symptomatic”, as pointed out by the Australian PM, Scott Morrison .
The need to massively test healthy people without symptoms goes beyond traditional diagnostics practices, which are geared towards people who are already sick. Successful implementation of such surveillance-type testing requires a massive increase in diagnostic capacity.
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