Testing is key to Covid management
New evidence from 40 countries
New research, examining 40 countries, shows readily available and widely administered testing is the best way forward for managing COVID-19.
The research examined the health systems in 40 countries, comparing each country’s preparedness pre-pandemically; the way they responded with stringency measures (lockdown, masks, social distancing); and testing. The consequence for each national response was measured against the number of COVID deaths and COVID cases between March 1 and April 30 2020.
Testing was found to be the key factor for reducing deaths and also offers a pathway out of lockdowns that also supports economic recovery, reported lead researcher Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University, in research published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care.
The research shows that early stringency measures were necessary but not sufficient on their own. They are also not sustainable in the long term. Broad testing in tandem with stringency measures were central to improving outcomes.Professor Braithwaite urged:
If we have one message for governments around the world, it is this: do not stop testing.
“This research indicates for instance that while both the USA and Sweden have recorded a tragic number of deaths from COVID-19, their health systems were well placed initially to have coped with the pandemic. Decisions made at a political and economic level that led to low stringency measures and limited or sporadic testing most likely contributed to the poorer outcomes of both countries. Australia's performance, in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, is supported by the findings: early and ongoing stringency measures combined with broad testing leading to fewer cases and fewer deaths,” said Professor Braithwaite.
Other countries with broad testing regimes and corresponding lower death rates in the study timeframe were South Korea, Iceland and Taiwan.
Countries included in the study were the 36 OECD countries (such as USA, Australia, UK, France, Sweden), plus Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Iran. Taiwan was included as a health system. The People’s Republic of China was excluded as its response to the pandemic occurred on a different timeline to the rest of the world.
Related media coverage
Australian Financial Review 6 Nov 2020: Fragile situation: Can Australia keep Covid-19 at bay?
The Lighthouse 3 November 2020: Testing everyone is the key to limit Covid-19 deaths, study finds
Journal article
Jeffrey Braithwaite, Yvonne Tran, Louise A Ellis, Johanna Westbrook, The 40 health systems, COVID-19 (40HS, C-19) study, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, , mzaa113, https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa113
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