We argue that random testing (polling the fraction of infected people in the population) is central to managing the COVID-19 pandemic because it both measures  the key variable controlled by restrictive measures, and anticipates the load on the healthcare system via the progression of the disease.
<meaning-changed> We argue that random testing (polling the fraction of infected people in the population) is central to managing the COVID-19 pandemic because it both measures  the key variable controlled by restrictive measures, and anticipates the load on the healthcare system via the progression of the disease.
We argue that random testing (polling the fraction of infected people in the population) is central to managing the COVID-19 pandemic because it both measures in real time the key variable controlled by restrictive measures, and anticipates the load on the healthcare system via the progression of the disease.