Veneto region of Italy to start Coronavirus testing in the streets

The northern Italian region of the Veneto is proposing Coronavirus testing in the streets and at supermarkets in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. The region follows the example of South Korea, one of the countries worst hit by the virus but which now has numbers of cases falling because of their rigorous testing procedure and use of social distancing. 

Coronavirus testing at random in the streets and in supermarkets hopes to catch cases of the disease where the carrier is asymptomatic and therefore has not self-isolated. Luca Zaia, President of the Veneto region, stated, “We have a project for the testing: we will do it on the road, outside supermarkets, on staff in supermarkets and others, because the more positive cases we find, the more we can isolate them and the less the spread [of the disease].”

The Veneto has already done 29 thousands tests for the Coronavirus, making it the area which has done the most tests per million inhabitants in the world. 

The aim of the thorough testing technique is to “break all the chains of transmission,” according to the Department of Health for the Veneto region. As more cases are found, “it will be possible to start subsequent epidemiological investigations and to intervene with isolation at home and quarantine,” the Department stated.