The System for Diagnosing Epidemics Is Failing
Rapid testing is crucial in stopping the spread of diseases like the coronavirus, and we’re not up to the task.
A surge in reported coronavirus cases reveals a critical vulnerability in the world’s ability to combat epidemics.
Photographer: Feature China/Barcroft Media/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
How big is the coronavirus outbreak? A lot bigger than we were initially told, it turns out.
On Thursday, confirmed cases of Covid-19 in China's Hubei Province — the epidemic's epicenter — jumped by almost 15,000. It's not that there was a sudden wave of new infections. Rather, the increase reflects a change in how China counts patients; it couldn't diagnose the disease rapidly enough via lab tests, so it started identifying cases in other ways, such as CT scans.