The Wrong Question

    The better question might be, why didn’t the guidelines of isolation and distancing work as well as in some other countries? We have over the past several generations evolved the most highly self centered, polarized and non compliant population imaginable. If the original guidelines were followed uniformly, COVID19 would be gone.            
    Now, we are asking about testing, as if that would have lead to a different outcome. If we tested every American in the morning before he or she went to work, and self-quarantined those that were positive, would that work any better? Would We not repeat the same level of noncompliance?
    Such a testing strategy begs the question of feasibility. The test would, of necessity, have to detect the presence of the virus, real-time, with instant results, high specificity and high sensitivity. The cost would have to be very low, the manufacturing and distribution would need to be in the billions of units, but again, would thee be any better compliance.