Date
2020
Abstract
On March 11th 2020, the WHO classified the Covid-19 out-break as a pandemic1. As of May 10th 2020, according the WHO Situation Report-111, there are 3,917,366 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 274,361 deaths globally2. The estimated basic reproduction number for Covid-19 is 2.2, meaning on average a person with the disease will infect 2 other people3. As of the date this paper was written, there are no conclusive methods of treatment, nor a vaccine for Covid-194. It is because of this that, arguably, the most effective policy to preventing deaths, harm, and extending isolation policies, is with mass tracking of current cases, followed by rapid testing of populations exposed to said individuals5.
The United States of America has taken a triage approach to testing however, with classifications of people being designated as those who should receive testing while others are not. A list of symptoms6 is first used to identify if a patient could have Covid-19. Other risk factors such as, exposure to a person with a confirmed case, if they work in a high-risk area, or if their local area has a high exposure rate are used to judge if a test is required. The CDC provides official guidelines on classification of risk assessment for testing7.
Recommended Citation
Korn-Heilner, Joshua, "A Review of the Current Testing Methods for SARS-COV-2 in the US" (2020). Seton Hall Biochemistry II Annals of Student Reviews. 5.
https://scholarship.shu.edu/student-reviews/5
