Proposal of a population wide genome-based testing for Covid-19

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread mortality, economic disruption, and societal restrictions.
• Effective pandemic control strategies are crucial for mitigating the impact of infectious diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel tool for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To introduce a cost-effective, highly sensitive virus-genome-based PCR test for population-scale application.

Main Methods:

• Development of a low-cost, highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 genome detection test.
• Application of PCR-based testing on a systematic and repeated population-wide basis.
• Mathematical modeling using Germany as a case study to evaluate the strategy's effectiveness.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of the potential utility of systematic, repeated PCR testing in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Presentation of real-world examples illustrating mass-scale implementation feasibility.
• Discussion of the practical considerations and viability of the proposed testing strategy.

Conclusions:

• Systematic, population-scale PCR testing is a viable and effective tool for COVID-19 pandemic control.
• The developed low-cost, sensitive test facilitates widespread implementation.
• This strategy offers a promising approach to managing future pandemics.