CDC now says people without COVID-19 symptoms do not need testing

CDC recently revised its COVID-19 testing guidelines to exclude people who do not have symptoms of the disease, even if they were recently exposed to the novel coronavirus. Models indicate that roughly one-half of transmission events can be linked to individuals still in the pre-symptomatic stage. Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, notes that the majority of experts encourage more frequent and widespread testing, especially to reach vulnerable and marginalized sections of the population, so the CDC’s modification appears counterintuitive and “very strange.” She is concerned that people may believe the guidelines mean that people without symptoms are unable to pass the coronavirus on to others. Experts warn that a relaxation in testing could delay important treatments and conceal or facilitate the coronavirus’s spread in the community. NIH recently announced the first round of grant recipients for its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program, designed to ramp up coronavirus testing. On RADx’s website, officials emphasize the importance of prioritizing tests that can “detect people who are asymptomatic.” CDC’s latest guidance, which was posted on Monday, says that people who have been in close contact with an infected individual—which is typically defined as being within six feet of a person with COVID-19 and for at least 15 minutes—”do not necessarily need a test” if they do not have symptoms. CDC said exceptions might be made for “vulnerable” individuals, or if health care providers or state or local public health officials advise testing.