Countries around the world are scrambling in different ways to fight back the spread of the coronavirus. Iceland’s approach of mass testing has proven to be profoundly insightful, impacting our understanding of the virus in a new way. The small island nation of only 364,000 inhabitants has been on a mission to get everyone tested, whether or not they are presenting symptoms.
Thorolfur Guðnason, Iceland’s chief epidemiologist, told BuzzFeed News:
Iceland’s population puts it in the unique position of having very high testing capabilities with help from the Icelandic medical research company deCode Genetics, who are offering to perform large scale testing. This effort is intended to gather insight into the actual prevalence of the virus in the community, as most countries are most exclusively testing symptomatic individuals at this time.
According to data on Iceland’s health ministry dedicated COVID-19 page, 12,615 tests have been administered as of March 25, 2020, with 802 resulting in confirmed cases. That mean’s they’ve already tested 3.4% of the entire country. The nation’s government says it has tested more of its citizens than any other country in the world.
The fact that they are even testing those who show no symptoms of the disease is the crucial point. Why? Because it has resulted in one of the most important lessons about coronavirus to date: around half of everyone testing positive for the coronavirus will show absolutely no symptoms. Meaning, people could be out in public thinking they don’t have it (and everyone around them thinking the same), but in reality, they’re out and about spreading the virus around.
Guðnason said:
Early results from deCode Genetics indicate that a low proportion of the general population has contracted the virus and that about half of those who tested positive are non-symptomatic. The other half displays very moderate cold-like symptoms. This data can also become a valuable resource for scientific studies of the virus in the future.
These test results provide evidence that a significant portion of people who are infected have mild or no symptoms at all. They also confirm several studies that show how asymptomatic individuals contribute to the transmission of COVID-19 in high numbers.
Like the World Health Organization’s director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said:
You cannot fight the fire blindfolded, and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected. We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test. Test every suspected case.
This is why the organization urges extensive testing saying that it has already led to substantial results. It has saved lives and can save many more.
It is also vital to take self-isolation seriously, whether or not you are feeling sick.
