Opinion: Fast, low-cost testing is essential for averting a second wave of Covid-19
Since the first Covid-19 cases emerged in the U.S. in early 2020, attitudes toward coronavirus testing have evolved as we’ve learned more about the novel coronavirus and how it spreads.
Initially, testing was intended to be diagnostic and confirm infections in people with symptoms such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, and fatigue. At that time, there was no understanding of the risk of silent transmission within the community via infected people who had not yet developed symptoms or who never developed them.
