Coronavirus: Togo plans to proceed to random large-scale testing soon

 As the number of Covid-19 cases keeps rising in the country, Togo is about to proceed to large scale testing of its population. 

According to The Guardian newspaper, the government should randomly test 5,000 people across the territory. 

This should allow sanitary authorities to decide where and when the movement of people should be limited, better target actions -such as quarantine, lockdown- hence lowering pressure on the whole social and economic ecosystem. 

The main motive behind the move is to make the virus visible and identify and closely monitor potential epidemic foci. This is in a context where the number of cases remains relatively low (only 128 confirmed cases officially, and nine deaths) about two months after the first case was reported.

Also, key data such as the proportion of asymptomatic cases, prevalence by age range, among others, should be obtained through the process. 

To date, Togo has tested 8,835 people for the Covid-19, mainly suspected cases. This is 0.1% of the whole Togolese population. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi/togofirst