So much talk about testing...

[eyc234]

I know that I am probably going to blasted with a lot of what a dummy, you are against people staying safe and every other degrade that can be thought up but here goes.

There is tons of talk that we need more testing in general and to be able to open up the economy. Just do not understand or maybe have missed the details on this. State/federal governments and medical professionals keep saying that we need to do more testing for COVID-19. Other than telling you who has the virus at that instant in time what does testing do? If you do not test everyone that does not test positive every few days how will this have any affect on stopping the spread. If you are working outside of your self quarantined home could you not at any point or time get the virus? So how does testing only those with symptoms and a one off group help? Can we really believe that we can test enough of the approximate 329 million people in the US to make a difference?

There will be lots of opinions on these questions but are there or have there been any explanations from our medical professionals or government entities of what testing is suppose to accomplish that makes people safe today, tomorrow and in the foreseeable future.

[JoMar]

I know that I am probably going to blasted with a lot of what a dummy, you are against people staying safe and every other degrade that can be thought up but here goes.

There is tons of talk that we need more testing in general and to be able to open up the economy. Just do not understand or maybe have missed the details on this. State/federal governments and medical professionals keep saying that we need to do more testing for COVID-19. Other than telling you who has the virus at that instant in time what does testing do? If you do not test everyone that does not test positive every few days how will this have any affect on stopping the spread. If you are working outside of your self quarantined home could you not at any point or time get the virus? So how does testing only those with symptoms and a one off group help? Can we really believe that we can test enough of the approximate 329 million people in the US to make a difference?

There will be lots of opinions on these questions but are there or have there been any explanations from our medical professionals or government entities of what testing is suppose to accomplish that makes people safe today, tomorrow and in the foreseeable future.

Depends on the test. If you have symptoms that's a test, if you had the virus that's anoter test for antibodies and if you own a business and want to know how your employees and customers are doing that is another test. Politicians lump them all together under "testing". And yes, general medical consensus is that if you have had the virus there is not guarantee that you won't get it again. As we open up and more people catch it we will get more answers.

[collie1228]

The "experts" don't have any idea whether antibodies in your blood provide any future protection from the virus. They make the assumption that it does, but nobody knows. The politicians have grabbed onto the antibody testing argument like a dog on a rat - and they don't know any more than the "experts". So now the big push for an antibody test. Geesh.

[charmed59]

If they can test everyone with symptoms, and find out the results fast, they can track all their contacts and quarantine them and hopefully stop the spread.

For instance, if patient A tested positive they can come up with spouse, 8 golf buddies, and two neighbors he’s been in contact with in the last two weeks. Now test the spouse and 8 golf buddies and two neighbors. Spouse and one golf buddy tests positive. Quarantine them and start over on testing their contacts. Meanwhile the others who tested negative are free to continue on with their social distancing lives.

Let’s say we don’t test patient A. That means we don’t quarantine the golf buddy or wife who then spread it on.

Or we can only test patient A, then we should quarantine the spouse, 8 golf buddies, the two neighbors, and anyone they came in contact with.

Being able to test everyone means we can free up people that test negative from that case.