The key to living with the virus? Less accurate tests
Forget the gold standard, it's about volume. Test strips could be deployed to schools and workplaces, and even to shopping centres, airports and large cultural events.
One of the key elements of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been large-scale and rapid testing. By early May we were testing one person per thousand per day. By July the rate was more than two – high by world standards.
And the type of test we use – a so-called “PCR test” – is considered by medical professionals to be the gold standard. These tests look for viral RNA remnants in cycles. This process requires a laboratory, reagents and specialised machines, costs about $50-$100 per test, and takes between 24 and 48 hours for the results to be returned.
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Joshua Gans is professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto and author of Economics in the Age of COVID-19.
Richard Holden is scientia professor of economics at UNSW Business School. Connect with Richard on Twitter.
