Ontario has 13000 in testing capacity through and many other labs have supported us up. Right now if there is a capacity to fill - we need to have every HCW, LTC, those in shelters, on reserves, in jails, and those hospitalized tested with even mild but compatible symptoms 1/

Outbreaks in LTC need testing of everyone with or without symptoms including HCW to ensure things are contained. However, the next step is testing everyone symptomatic. It's a herculean effort but it needs to be done as our capacity grows. Why? 2/

It makes transmission chains easier. Mild cases isolate for 14 days - but their contacts may not. Furthermore, if their contacts get ill do they test? What if they're a vulnerable pop or a healthcare worker. Testing means public health followup and contact screening 3/

The bigger reason why is knowing when we get out of this. Relying on hospitalizations and deaths are simply surrogate measures. Remember - people are hospitalized a few days after feeling unwell, and deaths occur a few days or weeks after that. So those markers are delayed 4/

If we want to follow an intermittent model like this one by @CPHO_Canada , we need to know when to press and release the brake, and deaths/hospitalization are going to be weeks too late. We need to know the rise and fall within our own communities.

Bottom line is those interested in COVID-19 research, think of ways to scale up testing. Perhaps self administered or oral swabs, pooled samples, seroprevalence studies, testing sample populations, whatever - more data means more refined intermittent distancing.