An approach for confronting #COVID19 that relies more on case containment strategies than broad mitigation (as WSJ advocates) depends on massive screening. It's why lack of screening capacity, PPE, and test supply chain become critical challenges to solve. wsj.com/articles/rethi…
Rate limiting factors in broader screening are the testing supply chain like viral media, swabs, reagents, and the protective equipment used by providers. These were predictable challenges in the setting of an epidemic. Solving these shortages will give us more policy latitude.
We should look at South Korea model. They were able to quell epidemic effectively, and at perhaps less relative cost, by implementing massive screening, information sharing, and containment strategies -- on top of broad mitigation steps that allowed key activities to continue.
Ultimately, we need to invest very heavily in a crash effort to get point of care diagnostics and technologies like antivirals and an antibody prophylaxis that can make coronavirus a less fearsome foe. We failed to fully plan in January for March; we must plan in March for May.
