Q: Why is testing for COVID-19 trending down?
A: Numbers of coronavirus tests performed have been decreasing in the last couple of months. This trend has been noted locally in Hamilton County as well as across the nation. The average number of tests being done every day in the U.S. has dropped by 33% since January, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Although the decrease in testing could be because fewer people are getting infected and not experiencing symptoms, other reasons may account for this trend. The decrease in testing, for example, could be relative to the increase in testing done in January as people were returning to work and school after the holiday break. Other reasons include the inconvenience of testing or concerns of having to quarantine and miss work. Some may think that since vaccines are becoming more available, testing is not important.
This decrease in testing, though, is happening at a point when the decrease in positive cases seems to have leveled off and more transmissible variants have emerged. People with asymptomatic and presymptomatic infection, who do not usually get tested, are likely contributing to community transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Testing, then, continues to have an important role in identifying infected individuals and is key to preventing person-to-person transmission.
The CDC recommends you get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19, have had close contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19 or have taken part in activities where distancing is not possible (travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded indoor settings). Testing for asymptomatic persons depends on risk and levels of cases in the community.