A rapid systematic review and case study on test, contact tracing, testing, and isolation policies for Covid-19 prevention and control

Chung, Sheng-Chia; Marlow, Sushila; Tobias, Nicholas; Alogna, Ivano; Alogna, Alessio; You, San-Lin

Objectives To conduct a rapid review on the efficacy and policy of contact tracing, testing, and isolation (TTI) in Covid-19 prevention and control, including a case study for their delivery. Method Research articles and reviews on the use of contact tracing, testing, self-isolation and quarantine for Covid-19 management published in English within 1 year (2019 to 28th May, 2020) were eligible to the review. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, SCOPUS and JSTOR with search terms included "contact tracing" or "testing" or "self-isolation" or "quarantine" in the title in combination with "Covid-19" or "COVID-19" or "coronavirus" in the title or abstract. Studies not associated with TTI or Covid-19 or being solely commentary were excluded. A narrative synthesis with a tabulation system was used to analyse studies for their diverse research designs, methods, and implications. Information for the case study was obtained from the Centers for Disease Control Taiwan. Results Among the 160 initial publications, 30 eligible studies are included in the review. Included studies applied various designs: experiments, clinical studies, Government Documents, systematic reviews, observational studies, surveys, practice guidelines, technical reports. A case study on TTI delivery is summarised based on policy and procedures in Taiwan. Conclusions The information included in the review may inform the TTI program in the UK.