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Is mass dispatching the swab test kits for coronavirus to everyone in singapore a realistic solution?
So we will find out immediately if anyone has the virus, and can isolate them, eventually stopping the spread more quickly. i see how this might sound costly, but won’t dealing with the effects of the spread be equally, if not more devastating in terms of resource usage?
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That is a good thought.
However, in some individuals, they may require serial testing before it turns positive as the virus has an incubation period.
Hence, in high risk individuals, a single negative test does not mean the person will not be infected subsequently. Mass giving out kits may lead to misconception that a single negative test excludes one from being tested positive in the future.
Currently in Singapore, they are already adopting a pro-active approach whereby healthcare workers are being rostered to swab people residing in clusters such as the recent dormitory cluster. I feel that that may give us a higher yield, to swab those individuals with known risks/exposure rather than the general public.