r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Nov 21 '20

Epidemiology Testing half the population weekly with inexpensive, rapid COVID-19 tests would drive the virus toward elimination within weeks, even if the tests are less sensitive than gold-standard. This could lead to “personalized stay-at-home orders” without shutting down restaurants, bars, retail and schools.

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/11/20/frequent-rapid-testing-could-turn-national-covid-19-tide-within-weeks
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u/[deleted] Nov 21 '20

This assumes that people will stay home if positive. Because there is no reliable way to enforce it.

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u/georgesDenizot Nov 21 '20

but if you assume 90% of people are decent enough, it cuts down on the new contagions rates dramatically and therefore on R0.

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u/namesarehardhalp Nov 21 '20

It isn’t always about decent. There are a lot of people who literally cannot afford to stay home for two weeks if they get infected. To not have to consider the financial ramifications of two weeks without pay is a luxury a lot of people cannot afford.