I read this article in La Repubblica by way of Google Translate that had some interesting results. Researchers tested everyone in a 3,000 pop. village of Vo in Tuscany and found out that 50%-75% of those tested were asymptomatic but were transmitting the disease. Not only that, but when these cases were isolated, they cleared the virus more quickly (in 8 days) and the total cases in the town dropped from 88 to 7 within a little over a week.
Sergio Romagnani, Professor of Clinical Immunology of the University of Florence stated that this was particularly important in frontline healthcare workers who are frequently exposed to the virus, may be advised to keep working if they don’t have overt symptoms, and are then passing the infection on.
I realise that testing on a scale of an entire country’s population may not be feasible, but it would be in governments’ self interest to make it as available, easy, and affordable as possible, especially to the doctors and nurses who are responsible for keeping their patients as healthy as possible. This article in the Guardian shows that health care workers would definitely prefer a different approach than the don’t ask don’t tell model of disease containment that exists now.