HP Innovation Journal Issue 15: Summer 2020 | Page 15

Andrew Bolwell
/ Global Head of HP Tech Strategy & Ventures
TEST
THE GLOBAL CRISIS CAUSED by the COVID-19 virus has changed the way we work, go to school,
commute, and live our daily lives. The road back to normalcy, or at least a “new norm,” will not be an
easy one. In order to restart the economy, open schools, and gain back a sense of our normal lives, we
need rapid, cost-effective, widespread testing that can be used to screen people going back to work to
ensure they are not infected. To move people safely out of stay-at-home restrictions, it will be critical
to test for both the active virus to determine who is sick, and the resulting antibodies to identify who
has had the virus and is potentially immune. According to research from Harvard’s Safra Center, it’s
estimated that 2% to 6% of the US population—between five and 20 million people—would need to be
tested daily for the virus.¹ That’s a massive undertaking when you consider that, as of mid-May, only 10
million tests had been conducted overall.
INNOVATION/ SUMMER 2020
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