Henry posted this in the previous thread
"
It’s official. @seattleflustudy has shifted focus to supporting public health response to #COVID19 to launch SCAN for home based swab collection. @trvrb @lea_starita @JShendure @famulare_mike @debnick60 Jan Englund Michael Boeckh @mjonasrieder @UWMedicine
Helen Chu on Twitter
New #COVID19 study launching from the amazing folks @seattleflustudy and @KCPubHealth!
The SCAN study will help public health leaders track the spread of #SARSCoV2 in #Seattle. It will test symptomatic AND asymptomatic people.
Kira Newman, MD, PhD on Twitter
Greater Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN)
#seattlecovid19 @HelenChuMD"
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I received my almost daily text alert from King County (don't live there, just signed up) and the link at
King County COVID-19 daily summary - King County has daily hyperlinks, one being about the SCAN testing.
It appears that epidemiologists are NOT following WHO at all. I guess they quickly realized the US has never been set up to do such contact tracing, so they chose an alternative?
Introducing SCAN: the greater Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER
Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network—or SCAN for short.
SCAN is an innovative disease surveillance platform that will allow Public Health to gain a clearer picture of how the COVID-19 virus is spreading through our community. By conducting focused, representative testing from a sample of people across greater Seattle and King County—ensuring we have participation from people in a cross-section of neighborhoods, including adults and children, whether they are showing symptoms or not—we will gain important information that allows us to better respond to the epidemic.
SCAN can’t test every individual. However, by using innovative research methods and data modeling, SCAN can help us better predict the number of people who may be infected but unrecognized. Understanding how COVID-19 is being transmitted, even among those who have not yet sought medical care and would not otherwise be tested, will help us determine if community measures such as social distancing are working, and whether we need to adapt our guidance. SCAN will help us answer questions like how the virus is affecting our kids, and which groups in King County are most at risk for infection, so we can better protect them.
You can play an important role in SCAN. We’re asking people—whether they show symptoms or not—to visit
scanpublichealth.org and sign up. You’ll answer a few questions, starting with your zip code. We’ll send swab kits to those we can, focusing on the people needed to get the most representative picture possible of what’s happening in our region.
Once you receive your kit, simply follow the enclosed instructions and return your swab to SCAN. If you test positive for COVID-19, you’ll be contacted by a SCAN team member working with Public Health.
“Despite the rapid onset and growth of this outbreak it has been hard to understand or predict its true extent and impact,” said Jeff Duchin, MD, Health Officer for Public Health — Seattle & King County. “By testing a broad sample of people in different communities, we’ll have a more detailed understanding of where the virus exists and who is being affected. This is important information that can help us learn about the true severity of infection, whether the community measures being taken to reduce its spread are working or need to be adjusted, and when, eventually, the number of COVID-19 cases are finally in decline.”
. Unfortunately I have zero solution for this, as I agree with you that we can't test the entire world. We currently can't even test all the people showing symptoms. 
