Everyone seems to think that we should ALL be tested for the Coronavirus. That is WRONG thinking. First of all, a one-time test tells what is happening ONLY AT THE TIME THE TEST WAS TAKEN. If you shake hands with someone shortly after the test, that test becomes INVALID. Also, testing in no way provides immunity, nor does it lead to a cure in the near term. Further, we simply do not have the capability of providing sufficient testing for the entire population in any reasonable time frame (say, the next two years). So why do testing at all?
We live in a world where the present is everything and we all tend to lose sight of the need to plan for the future. But THAT is precisely why we NEED testing. Short-term results of testing give us a snapshot of what has just happened, on an ongoing basis as it happens, so we can properly assess the emerging situation, make plans to improve it, and provide possible clues as to how best to address the current situation in the longer term. It also gives us a template for dealing with the NEXT wide-spread epidemic/pandemic. In other words, lets all help our CHILDREN while we are bemoaning what is happening now.
There is a website that is doing something that neither our government nor the World Health Organization are currently doing: publishing the progression of testing. I suggest that you read the article and bookmark it for weekly review. It is important to understand not only where we are now but on whether we are doing the appropriate amount of testing to provide meaningful data for our future. For instance, as of March 19, 2020, 103,945 tests have been given and 14,250 confirmed cases occurred in the USA. But another charts shows that the USA has only conducted 313.6 tests per MILLION population.
Simple (but actually misleading) arithmetic says that 14% of those tested were in fact infected. There are a variety of reasons why I say this is misleading. The actual amount of tests administered is woefully short of statistical significance, tests are being given under very carefully controlled conditions, the number of test kits (and the resources to perform the actual tests, not just gather the sample) is woefully short, and many more. I invite the interested reader to explore further why it is so hard to answer the question “how likely am I to get this disease” and the follow-up, “will I die from this?”.
In closing I want you to not only take this to heart but spread the word to those of your friends via email, snail mail, phone, social media and any other means other than face-to-face. Our government is sending many mixed messages but there ARE reliable, unbiased resources available to give us the answers we seek. Stay home, stay healthy, ignore panic web sites and happy Googling!!