Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => COVID-19 => Topic started by: set fair on 17/04/2020 21:06:33

Title: How much are the cheapest reliable tests?
Post by: set fair on 17/04/2020 21:06:33

I've heard $5 from India and even claims of $1. Should we be going all out to make 10 million tests per day? Than everyone in the UK can be tested once a week, positives to be put into quarantine, household member into isolation. How long before we could go back to work?

Title: Re: How much are the cheapest reliable tests?
Post by: vhfpmr on 18/04/2020 00:14:38

It would depend what you mean by reliable, I suppose. Whatever gold standard is being used to evaluate all the others probably costs megabucks.

Title: Re: How much are the cheapest reliable tests?
Post by: set fair on 19/04/2020 04:26:47

I don't think we need a gold standard, just the same reliability as the tests we are using now.

The sums: GDP £40 billion a week, if we are are only loosing 10% of that with the lockdown that's £4 billion. Seems like a no brainer and we'd be saving all those lives.

I know it would take time to increase test production, so we should start now.

Still waiting for sombody to say why it wouldn't work.