Testing for COVID-19: A way to lift confinement restrictions

• Titel: Testing for COVID-19: A way to lift confinement restrictions
• Institutionen: OECD [Herausgebendes Organ]
• Verf.angabe: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• Verlagsort: Paris
• Verlag: OECD Publishing
• Jahr: 2020
• Umfang: 1 Online-Ressource (21 p.)
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• DOI: doi:10.1787/89756248-en
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Parallele Sprachausgabe : Japanisch: COVID-19検査：外出制限措置を解除するために
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Parallele Sprachausgabe : Portugiesisch: Testando para a COVID-19: Uma maneira de flexibilizar as restrições do confinamento
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Parallele Sprachausgabe : Spanisch: Realizar pruebas para la detección de la COVID-19: Una forma de levantar las restricciones de confinamiento
• Sach-SW: Social Issues/Migration/Health
• K10plus-PPN: 1756671362
• K10plus-PPN:
  Universitätsbibliothek
• Lokale URL UB: Zum Volltext

Abstract

This policy brief discusses the role of testing for COVID 19 as part of any plan to lift confinement restrictions and prepare for a possible new wave of viral infections. If all confinement restrictions are lifted before a vaccine or effective treatments are developed without other measures to suppress new infections, the infection rate is expected to rebound rapidly. Crucially, quick suppression of infections requires testing more people to identify who is infected; tracking them to make sure they do not spread the disease further; and tracing with whom they have been in contact. This brief discusses how testing strategies can be used to achieve three main goals: suppressing the resurgence of local outbreaks, identifying people who have developed some form of immunity and can safely return to work and gaining intelligence on the evolution of the epidemic, including on when a threshold for herd immunity has been reached. The brief discusses what tests can be used for each goal, as well as practical implementation issues with testing strategies, including the opportunities and risks of using digital tools in this context.