Table 3.

Examples of testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection as a public health tool, by setting

	Public health measure	Who to screen	Frequency of screening	Test to use	Action to take in response to test results
Community testing of fixed cohorts of people in regular or daily contact with each other
Health-care facility48, 51, 59, 66, 87, 88	Face masks, ventilation, and (if possible) physical distancing; implement flexible, non-punitive, paid sick leave and supportive employment policies and practices	Health-care workers and workers in residential care homes for people aged 65 years or older	Twice a week	Molecular test if possible, otherwise an Ag-RDT	If the test is positive, isolate and initiate contact tracing
School6, 46, 70	Face masks, physical distancing, ventilation, and, if possible, moving activities outdoors	Teachers, students, other school staff, and ancillary workers	Frequency depends on COVID-19 prevalence within the community	Ag-RDT; confirm positive test results using a molecular test	If the test is positive, initiate contact tracing and send close contacts home for self-isolation
Workplace59, 60, 80	..	All staff	Once or twice a week, depending on community prevalence	Ag-RDT; confirm positive test results using a molecular test	Allow entry if the test result is negative; stay at or work from home if possible
Mass gatherings of random cohorts who gather at sporadic events
Music event84	Face masks and ventilation	All at entry	Once, at entry	Ag-RDT	Allow entry into event if the test result is negative; confirm positive results using a molecular test
Religious gathering85	Face masks, physical distancing, and limit event size to small groups of 20 accompanied by a health worker	All at entry and on departure	Twice a week for multiday events	Molecular test pre-entry and Ag-RDT at event	Allow entry into event if the test result is negative; confirm positive results using a molecular test
Sports event86	Face masks and physical distancing	Players, staff, and (at entry) spectators	Once at entry; no screening during event	Molecular test (if possible, otherwise an Ag-RDT) for players; Ag-RDT for staff and spectators; confirm positive test results using a molecular test	Stop event if players test positive and initiate contact tracing; if staff or spectators test positive, do not allow them to enter the venue and initiate contact tracing

Ag-RDT=antigen rapid diagnostic test.