What is assurance testing and how can it help with COVID-19 testing?
What is assurance testing and how can it help with COVID-19 testing?
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Assurance testing, also called 'universal testing,' is a process in which an entire population gets tested for a virus several times over a specific period. So far during the pandemic, testing has mostly been saved for people who are experiencing symptoms, people who were in contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, or people who are at high-risk of infection. Assurance testing would remove those limitations and allow everyone to get tested. Assurance testing tests large regions so that if an outbreak happens, it can be caught early and controlled through isolation measures. This type of testing could help different regions as they begin to reopen economies, schools, and other large gatherings after the lifting of lockdown and shelter in place orders. Assurance testing can help people interact with one another safely without leading to an increase in cases and uncontrollable outbreaks. Social distancing and mask wearing are still recommended in most regions for the near future, but assurance testing could help to maintain lower levels of the virus in populations that have been able to reopen.
Assurance testing, also called 'universal testing,' is a process in which an entire population gets tested for a virus several times over a specific period. So far during the pandemic, testing has mostly been saved for people who are experiencing symptoms, people who were in contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, or people who are at high-risk of infection. Assurance testing would remove those limitations and allow everyone to get tested. Assurance testing tests large regions so that if an outbreak happens, it can be caught early and controlled through isolation measures. This type of testing could help different regions as they begin to reopen economies, schools, and other large gatherings after the lifting of lockdown and shelter in place orders. Assurance testing can help people interact with one another safely without leading to an increase in cases and uncontrollable outbreaks. Social distancing and mask wearing are still recommended in most regions for the near future, but assurance testing could help to maintain lower levels of the virus in populations that have been able to reopen.
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What our experts say
Assurance testing, also called 'universal testing,' is a process in which an entire population gets tested for a virus several times over a specific period. So far during the pandemic, testing has mostly been saved for people who are experiencing symptoms, people who were in contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, or people who are at high-risk of infection. Assurance testing would remove those limitations and allow everyone to get tested.
Assurance testing tests large regions so that if an outbreak happens, it can be caught early and controlled through isolation measures. This type of testing could help different regions as they begin to reopen economies, schools, and other large gatherings after the lifting of lockdown and shelter in place orders.
Assurance testing can help people interact with one another safely without leading to an increase in cases and uncontrollable outbreaks. Social distancing and mask wearing are still recommended in most regions for the near future, but assurance testing could help to maintain lower levels of the virus in populations that have been able to reopen.
Assurance testing, also called 'universal testing,' is a process in which an entire population gets tested for a virus several times over a specific period. So far during the pandemic, testing has mostly been saved for people who are experiencing symptoms, people who were in contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, or people who are at high-risk of infection. Assurance testing would remove those limitations and allow everyone to get tested.
Assurance testing tests large regions so that if an outbreak happens, it can be caught early and controlled through isolation measures. This type of testing could help different regions as they begin to reopen economies, schools, and other large gatherings after the lifting of lockdown and shelter in place orders.
Assurance testing can help people interact with one another safely without leading to an increase in cases and uncontrollable outbreaks. Social distancing and mask wearing are still recommended in most regions for the near future, but assurance testing could help to maintain lower levels of the virus in populations that have been able to reopen.
Context and background
Many nations have reached a point of being able to loosen some pandemic restrictions, like sheltering in place and avoiding gatherings. Governments have considered ways to prevent another rise in COVID-19 cases and one of the most talked about tools is widespread testing for infected individuals. While testing is usually done on patients who have symptoms of the virus, have been exposed to people infected with the virus, or who are at high risk of catching the virus, monitoring entire populations for any potential outbreaks is a strategy that many nations are considering.
Assurance testing is a form of surveillance testing, but instead of tracking at-risk groups, they track an entire region to make sure new cases aren't happening. Since it is currently presumed that many cases of COVID-19 are spread by individuals who do not experience any symptoms, this type of testing could help find cases that would not be detected by prioritizing only those with symptoms.
This type of testing would also give public health groups the data to more accurately target areas with small outbreaks quickly, in order to isolate patients and complete contact tracing to inform others about their exposure to infected people.
It is not known what testing strategy many nations and regions will use to monitor COVID-19 cases, but assurance testing has strong potential for its ability to keep large populations safer as economies and societies reopen.
Many nations have reached a point of being able to loosen some pandemic restrictions, like sheltering in place and avoiding gatherings. Governments have considered ways to prevent another rise in COVID-19 cases and one of the most talked about tools is widespread testing for infected individuals. While testing is usually done on patients who have symptoms of the virus, have been exposed to people infected with the virus, or who are at high risk of catching the virus, monitoring entire populations for any potential outbreaks is a strategy that many nations are considering.
Assurance testing is a form of surveillance testing, but instead of tracking at-risk groups, they track an entire region to make sure new cases aren't happening. Since it is currently presumed that many cases of COVID-19 are spread by individuals who do not experience any symptoms, this type of testing could help find cases that would not be detected by prioritizing only those with symptoms.
This type of testing would also give public health groups the data to more accurately target areas with small outbreaks quickly, in order to isolate patients and complete contact tracing to inform others about their exposure to infected people.
It is not known what testing strategy many nations and regions will use to monitor COVID-19 cases, but assurance testing has strong potential for its ability to keep large populations safer as economies and societies reopen.
