Martin Kahanec, Lukas Laffers, Bernhard Schmidpeter,
"The Impact of Repeated Mass Antigen Testing for COVID-19 on the Prevalence of the Disease"
, in Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 34, Seite(n) 1105-1140, 6-2021, ISSN: 1432-1475
Original Titel:
The Impact of Repeated Mass Antigen Testing for COVID-19 on the Prevalence of the Disease
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
In the absence of effective vaccination, mass testing and quarantining of positive
cases and their contacts could help to mitigate pandemics and allow economies to stay
open. We investigate the effects of repeated mass testing on the COVID-19 pandemic
caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, using data from the first ever nationwide rapid
antigen testing implemented in Slovakia in autumn 2020. After the first round of
testing, only districts above an ex ante unknown threshold of test positivity were retested. Comparing districts above and below the threshold, we provide evidence that
repeated mass antigen testing can temporarily reduce the number of new infections.
Our results suggest that mass testing coupled with the quarantining of positive cases
and their contacts could be an effective tool in mitigating pandemics. For lasting
effects, re-testing at regular intervals would likely be necessary.
Forschungs-