Increased randomised testing inevitably increases the chances of detecting cases (particularly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic individuals who might not otherwise end up seeing a doctor). But does testing inevitably lead to a rise in recorded cases?
POLITICO refers to website ourworldindata.org which has compiled an extensive dataset with the number of tests conducted in countries around the globe.
An analysis carried on the relationship between the number of tests conducted and new cases found across Europe shows that while countries like Luxembourg, Denmark and Malta carry the highest number of daily tests per 1,000 , Denmark and Malta have the lowest rate of positive tests.
POLITICO
POLITICO
POLITICO reports that for some European countries such as Belgium and Spain, rising test rates do coincide with more cases.
However, in both countries, the rate of rising infections outstripped the increase in tests — suggesting that there is a real resurgence of the virus going on and not that officials are just getting better at detecting it.
Some countries are dealing well with a nascent second wave of infections. In Finland, the U.K., Hungary and Portugal, testing capacity is up, but cases per capita have either decreased or increased only slightly. In Belgium, Spain, Poland and Romania an increase in testing has been accompanied by a significant spike in the number of infections.
