Originally Posted by
trueblu
In fact, if what we are seeing in Asia vs. Europe/US is anything to go by, a full-on pandemic may not be inevitable at all (although I'm more cautious about that since I think there are still multiple pockets of cases that just aren't being counted). But certainly, it seems that by strong measures, we can appreciably mitigate the growth/ expansion rate of cases...and thereby help protect our healthcare infrastructure.
And one reason timely and accurate testing is so important is that different levels of infection (sporadic cases versus early community spread versus widespread community transmission) may need different responses, and different locations in the US may be able to safely take different measures. The measures needed to get control of the situation in Seattle may be complete overkill for Rapid City SD. But without good data on where the infections are and how fast the disease is spreading, state and local officials are forced to guess about when to implement measures such as banning large public gatherings and closing schools.