NEW YORK- Pooled testing is a decades-old way of testing that allows for surveillance of communities. Professionals believed the United States could have this set up before the country sent their students back to school in August, however that is not the case. Pooled testing in school communities was thought to be the best way to slow the spread in those condensed spaces. But this approach simply will not work in the U.S.. Why? Because there are too many cases that are spreading too quickly.

How it works. The testing is only accurate when the majority of tests are negative. If the percentage of positive tests are too high, each person would need to get tested again, which wastes materials that the country is in need of already.

Nebraska's public health laboratory was a trailblazer in pooled testing, however this practice was deemed inaccurate once the positivity rate got too high in late April. A doctor with the lab said that if the state, and country would have mandated masks and taken social distancing more seriously earlier, this form of testing would be incredibly useful for Nebraskans.

However, in New York City where cases have been decreasing, pooled testing has come back to hospitals and other testing sites across the city.

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