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And yet the UK is testing at a rate 1/2 that of the US per capita (with a max capacity of only 12,750 per day) [1]. Two weeks ago they were barely testing at al

And yet the UK is testing at a rate 1/2 that of the US per capita (with a max capacity of only 12,750 per day) [1]. Two weeks ago they were barely testing at all. This is in fact going on across all of Europe, very few nations are doing anything right including on the testing front. That includes supposedly good outcome nations such as Sweden, which has made a terrible mistake of not properly quarantining, and even bragging about this fact [2]; meanwhile their case numbers are surging by the day, tripling in roughly 10-12 days. It's just that people ignorantly like to target the US with abuse because it feels good, while pretending everything is going swimmingly elsewhere (it's not). They count on Americans not following the news of the disaster that's still unfolding across Europe. There are a handful of nations doing kinda-sorta well in Europe and that's it. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-testing/uk-to-speed-up-coronavirus-testing-as-criticism-grows-idUSKBN21J4ET https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britai... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-27/coronavirus-want-to-escape-a-lockdown-try-sweden https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-27/corona... > “I’m deeply concerned,” virology professor Fredrik Elgh told state broadcaster SVT. Epidemiologist Joacim Rocklov told the FT it was “a huge experiment” that could go “crazily” wrong. Mathematician Marcus Carlsson, less politely, said it amounted to “Russian roulette.”

nfellaby 7y ago
Regarding the rate of testing, since the whole country is in lock down the rate of testing isn't actually that helpful. It's more about damage limitation. The UK, and most countries, are no longer in a containment phase that ship has sailed. Now it's more a case of reducing burden on the NHS. So the rate of testing only has a limited use at this point. I gives a guestimate about the total infection rate, and it is probably essential for hospitals to ensure containment of patients, but in terms of testing the general public, not that helpful. The US might get more use out of it at the moment in the remotely located populations such as towns that currently have limited infection rates Then testing is extremely helpful postponing infection. By doing so, it bides time for stock of medical supplies to increase after the significant burden that infected cities will have in the coming months.

nfellaby 7y ago

Regarding the rate of testing, since the whole country is in lock down the rate of testing isn't actually that helpful. It's more about damage limitation. The UK, and most countries, are no longer in a containment phase that ship has sailed. Now it's more a case of reducing burden on the NHS. So the rate of testing only has a limited use at this point. I gives a guestimate about the total infection rate, and it is probably essential for hospitals to ensure containment of patients, but in terms of testing the general public, not that helpful. The US might get more use out of it at the moment in the remotely located populations such as towns that currently have limited infection rates Then testing is extremely helpful postponing infection. By doing so, it bides time for stock of medical supplies to increase after the significant burden that infected cities will have in the coming months.