‘Combination of self-isolation, testing, contact tracing needed for containing virus’

LONDON: In the absence of a vaccine or highly effective treatments for COVID-19, scientists believe that a combination of measures such as intensive testing, and contact tracing along with physical distancing and remote working are needed to contain the pandemic.

According to a new modelling research, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, combining intensive contact tracing along with physical distancing measures may be the most efficient way to control the spread of the novel Coronavirus, SARS-COV-2. It noted that a high incidence of COVID-19 would require a considerable number of individuals to be quarantined to control infection. Citing an example, the researchers, including those from the University of Cambridge in the UK, said if about 5,000 new symptomatic cases were diagnosed each day, it may require 1,50,000-2,00,000 contacts to be quarantined every day if no physical distancing was in place.

They said the study is the first to use social contact data to quantify the potential impact of control measures on reducing individual-level transmission of SARS-COV-2 in specific settings. In the study, researchers analysed data on how 40,162 people moved about the UK and interacted with others prior to COVID-19.

Based on this, they simulated how combinations of different testing, isolation, tracing, and physical distancing scenarios-such as app-based tracing, remote working, limits on different sized gatherings, and mass population-based testingmight contribute to reducing secondary cases. They aimed to identify not only what would theoretically control transmission, but also what the practical implications of these measures would be.