Mass testing and containment of Covid-19

Abstract

Urgent public health interventions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 curtailed most social activities and work. Meanwhile, maintaining social distancing and lockdown will cause substantial economic loss and social damage. Now the critical question is how to reopen the economy while containing the COVID-19 pandemic without social distancing restrictions? The solution is mass testing. Alternative public health intervention strategies such as shelter-in-place and social distancing policies that may halt economic activities may be curtailed if virus testing which is an effective way to contain Covid-19 is expanded. Although the U.S. still has a longer path ahead, we have estimated that if the number of daily tests is 581,000 per day, i.e., the current number of daily tests would need to be doubled in order for Covid-19 to be contained and social distancing measures to be lifted.