How widely is testing for COVID being undertaken and when should we consider testing clinically?

25 May 2023

What the research says

Testing for COVID-19 has reduced markedly since the height of the pandemic when individuals were required to isolate if they tested positive or faced other restrictions such as requiring a negative test for air travel.

Surveillance data are available from the EU (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 2023). As of 2023 week 14 (data from 23 countries), testing levels using any type of approved test ranged from 11 per 100,000 population (Netherlands) to 5643 per 100,000 population (Cyprus). This compares with 2022 week 14 (data from 27 countries) when testing levels ranged from 311 per 100,000 population (Poland) to 38,428 per 100,000 population (Austria).

The WHO continues to recommend testing for individuals with symptoms consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection and that anyone testing positive should wear a mask when interacting with others (WHO 2023).

Clinically, testing for COVID-19 in symptomatic individuals might be considered if symptoms warrant treatment and therefore the test result might influence treatment decision making.

What this means for your clinical practice

Consider testing for COVID-19 in symptomatic individuals if symptoms warrant treatment and therefore the test result might influence treatment decision making.
In households with high risk members, testing for COVID-19 in symptomatic individuals should be encouraged to minimise exposure risk.

Resource information

Respiratory conditions

COVID-19

Type of resource

IPCRG COVID-19 and respiratory Q&A

Authors

With grateful thanks to Karin Lisspers, Associate Professor (Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Uppsala University, Sweden) for and on behalf of the IPCRG practice driven answers review group.

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Page last reviewed on the date shown above.

The content is drawn from the references listed above. Wording has been adapted for clarity and applicability for the primary care context. The content does not imply direction by the IPCRG nor does it form a position of the IPCRG on this subject. The content may be adapted as new evidence arises. This content is advisory; it is intended for general use and should not be regarded as applicable to a speciﬁc case.

The International Primary Care Respiratory Group produces a range of answers to questions raised by our Sentinel Network for clinicians working in community settings. These are called the IPCRG Questions and Answers. Where possible, these are published using Creative Commons licences under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA licence. This licence lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit IPCRG and license their new creations under the identical terms. This enables member countries to adapt and translate for use in their country. Further information on the fine print can be found by reading the Legal Code. We would appreciate it if you would ask your colleagues to visit our site to obtain documents, rather than you sending them copies. By doing this they will be better able to understand and accept the CCL. The IPCRG Answer Review Group coordinates the views of primary care colleagues with specific regard to these answers. The views expressed in these answers are not necessarily those of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group. Should any author have a conflict of interest in regard to an answer, then this will be clearly stated in the answer document.

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How widely is testing for COVID being undertaken and when should we consider testing clinically?

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