test and trace

English

Noun

test and trace (uncountable)

1. (neologism) A means of combating coronavirus by taking samples from individuals and instructing those who are infected to isolate themselves from others and provide details of their recent close contacts, who are also told to isolate.
   • 2020, Meredith Celene Schwartz, The Ethics of Pandemics, page 104:

     This is the world of “test and trace.” In the past month [i.e., since early March 2020], the coronavirus pandemic has necessitated a deep freeze of US activity.

   • 2021, Scott L. Greer, Elizabeth King, Elize Massard da Fonseca, Coronavirus Politics:

     However, contracts to run certain other elements of test and trace services in England, including contact tracing for non-complex cases, were awarded to private companies with little experience in the area.

See also

• pingdemic