Estimating effectiveness of frequent PCR testing at different intervals for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections 1, ,* 1, 2 Authors: Joel Hellewell † , Timothy W. Russell †, The SAFER Investigators and Field Study Team , 3 1 3 4 The Crick COVID-19 Consortium , CMMID COVID-19 working group , Rupert Beale , Gavin Kelly , 4,5,6 4,7 1 Catherine Houlihan , Eleni Nastouli , Adam J. Kucharski Affiliations: 1 C entre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK 2 D epartment of Clinical Virology, University College London Hospitals, London W1T 4EU, UK 3 C ell Biology of Infection Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute; Division of Medicine, UCL, UK 4 B ioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK 5 D epartment of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK 6 D epartment of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK 7 D epartment of Population, Policy and Practice, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH UK †A uthors contributed equally *Corresponding author: Joel Hellewell (
[email protected]) Summary Using data on twice-weekly PCR testing of front-line healthcare workers, we estimated individual infection times and probability of testing PCR positive at a given time since infection. Our results suggested that PCR positivity peaked 4 days after infection, with peak detection probability of 78% (95% Credible Interval: 55—89%). Using these estimates, we simulated testing strategies and found that frequent asymptomatic testing can increase the probability of detection early in the infection period.