Frequency of Routine Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in High-risk Healthcare Environments to Reduce Outbreaks

Chin, Elizabeth T. and Huynh, Benjamin Q. and Chapman, Lloyd A.C. and Murrill, Matthew and Basu, Sanjay and Lo, Nathan C. (2021) Frequency of Routine Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in High-risk Healthcare Environments to Reduce Outbreaks. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 73 (9). E3127-E3129. ISSN 1058-4838

Abstract

Routine asymptomatic testing strategies for COVID-19 have been proposed to prevent outbreaks in high-risk healthcare environments. We used simulation modeling to evaluate the optimal frequency of viral testing. We found that routine testing substantially reduces risk of outbreaks, but may need to be as frequent as twice weekly.