Lockdown alone can’tsuppress spread of virus

the editor: The lockdown of the entire society with restricted movement only slow down the spread it cannot stop Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes covid19. Testing will be a more effective and data driven way to stop the spread of covid19.

Countries such as Israel and South Africa still have spreading of covid19 and deaths even though they have strict laws that quarantine their population.

It will be expensive to test many people from each area then zoom in on a particular area once the virus is detected but it will pay for itself with the saving of life and the resumption of economic activities.

There is a company Biosensors in South Korea that produce 350,000 testing kit a day. Testing the blood for an increase white blood cell count will be a preliminary test to help identify people who need confirmatory test.

It impossible to fight an enemy you cannot see. Testing locates the covid19 cases and can help us focus resources where it needed. If we do not strategically test aggressively our health system will eventually become overwhelmed by the covid19 heath crisis. I use to teach graphing the spread of viruses and they spread exponentially, containment is difficult. Testing is our best tool to fight this pandemic. Curfew and social distancing (impossible if I live with several people) and state of emergency only slows down the spread; elimination should be the goal.

Brian Ellis Plummer

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