There is some buzz about an alternative approach to COVID-19 testing.
Let me take a stab at explaining this:
You have a hundred dollars to spend on testing and two options; which do you pick?
Option A: buy one test.
Option B: by a hundred test kits.
Option A: Results in 1-10 days.
Option B: Results in 30 minutes.
Option A: Detects infection with 24 hours of infection.
Option B: Detects infection with 30 hours of infection.
How may tests per day could the entire nation do?
Option A: A third of Million.
Option B: Unlimited?
How often can I test my entire school, office, factory?
Option A: monthly, maybe weekly
Option B: daily
Who should self quarantine for 14 days?
Option A: Anybody how might have had contact.
Option B: Anybody with a positive test.
On the podcast where I learned about his the gentleman explaining this new approach suggests that this could drive the reproduction rate below one nearly instantly. It is easy for people to self-quarantine in a timely manner.
One of the experts: “I am blown away, I feel some hope finally.”