Everywhere around the world, people are clamoring for mass testing. With all kinds of pandemic, knowing who is infected can help stop its spread. The people who are infected can be immediately placed into quarantine so that they can be treated and they can stop spreading the virus to other people.

The problem with the recent pandemic brought about by Covid-19 is that there is a long incubation period for the virus. It takes an average of 14 days for people to start showing symptoms, if they show symptoms at all. Some people get the virus but remain asymptomatic. It means they can go around their life as usual not knowing that they are a carrier of the virus. They could potentially pass it to people unwittingly.

This is why many agree that mass testing is essential to pandemic prevention. When people are tested, the asymptomatic ones will know that they are carriers of the virus.

But using mass testing for pandemic prevention is easier said than done. Even if we manage to acquire test kits, testing them and processing the results will take a lot of manpower. There is already a shortage of experienced professionals who can process the results of tests and not enough laboratories to accommodate them.

here are, however, alternative technologies. LexaGene, for instance, offers an open-access kind of diagnostic instrument, which can detect any kind of pathogen in samples through their system that only takes a short time to produce.

When these systems are used, it is easier to get results and it will allow the government to act much faster to contain the spread of the virus.

Aside from using these technologies, another key step towards pandemic prevention is social distancing and staying at home. While it might be hard to stay at home all the time, people are encouraged to avoid contact with other people, especially since we don’t know who could be running around asymptomatic. Others might not exhibitsymptoms but they can be just as likely to infect others. Go out only when necessary such as when getting food and other supplies.

Companies are encouraged to employ work-from-home strategies. Practice good hygiene as well. Wash your hands often, use alcohol whenever you get in contact with things that have been touched by the public. Wear your mask all the time when outside the house to avoid inhaling droplets that could be potentially infected.
These measures can help stop the spread of the virus and contain it long enough to help our healthcare system.