COVID 19 Test & Trace Success Determinants: Modeling On A Network

What determines the success of a COVID-19 Test & Trace policy? We use an SEIR agent-based model on a graph, with realistic epidemiological parameters. Simulating variations in certain parameters of Testing & Tracing, we find that important determinants of successful containment are: (i) the time from symptom onset until a patient is self-isolated and tested, and (ii) the share of contacts of a positive patient who are successfully traced. Comparatively less important is (iii) the time of test analysis and contact tracing. When the share of contacts successfully traced is higher, the Test & Trace Time rises somewhat in importance. These results are robust to a wide range of values for how infectious presymptomatic patients are, to the amount of asymptomatic patients, to the network degree distribution and to base epidemic growth rate. We also provide mathematical arguments for why these simulation results hold in more general settings. Since real world Test & Trace systems and policies could affect all three parameters, Symptom Onset to Test Time should be considered, alongside test turnaround time and contact tracing coverage, as a key determinant of Test & Trace success. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement No funding was received to support this research. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Approved for publication by Google, no human subjects or data, so no IRB required. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Simulation results are freely available, referenced in the body of the paper.