NOIDS is an outbreak detection program. The idea is if a primary care doctor suspects someone has something important and unexpected, like Cholera or Polio, the

NOIDS is an outbreak detection program. The idea is if a primary care doctor suspects someone has something important and unexpected, like Cholera or Polio, they can let the disease control authorities know so they they can be on the lookout for outbreaks. It's an early warning system. During a giant epidemic, no primary care doctor is detecting a new covid outbreak and reporting that up the chain as though thats new information - not when people are told to get tested outside primary care and aren't allowed to come into primary care with covid symptoms and tens of thousands are testing positive each day and have known covid cases. There's just no reason to do that. So NOIDS numbers are meaningless for Covid. But if covid recedes, then the system is in place for detecting future outbreaks.