Iceland, an island nation of just 360,000, has been testing for COVID-19 more than any other country. As of Tuesday, the country had tested roughly 5% of its population, 17,900 people, to gain a more accurate sense of how the virus’s symptoms manifest. Nearly half of the tests have been administered by a biopharma company called deCODE Genetics, while its National University Hospital tests those who are at high risk or show symptoms.
DeCODE has reportedly tested roughly 9,000 self-selected people and has found that 50% of those tested were either asymptomatic throughout the virus’s timeline or mildly symptomatic, both playing an important role in spreading the virus. However, a very small portion, about 1%, of the 9,000 self-selected population testes positive for the virus. Iceland hopes to stop the spread of the virus early by testing even those who do not show symptoms.
Read More: Iceland lab’s testing suggests 50% of coronavirus cases have no symptoms
