With low test rates, COVID-19 spreads in shadows

The lack of available tests for COVID-19 means the world is effectively fighting the pandemic blind and may not know the true extent of infection for months if not years, experts said on Thursday.

Because COVID-19 is so infectious -- roughly 2.5 times that of the common cold -- but not everyone presents symptoms, the figure of more than 200,000 confirmed cases tells only a fraction of the story.

Jerry Shaman, a diseases expert at the University of Columbia, told AFP it was "likely" that developed nations are identifying between one in five and one in 10 true infections.

Shaman said there was a variety of reasons, including "test availability, capacity, ignorance (not taking the issue seriously), arrogance (national pride)."
"They unwittingly take the virus to new places by auto, train or plane."
"You need to know where you are in the epidemic to be able to do something about it. And to do that, you need to test."
"They did some social distancing measures, but not as extreme. They closed schools for a while, but only for two or three weeks. They banned meetings, but people still went to work."