saposmak

What was the initial anomaly? What led your specialists to believe there was nothing to worry about later?

Testing everyone gives you a better idea of where the disease is clustered, and allows you to focus resources on those areas. It also gives you knowledge of where outbreaks are sprouting up and you can nip those in the bud.

The concentration of infections will not be the same everywhere. Flying blind without testing everyone means that we'll necessarily be using up valuable resources (let alone severely straining regional economies) on all-encompassing approaches (I.e. Lock down everyone and everything, always use safety equipment when treating all patients, etc.)

Not only that, when we emerge from lockdown a month from now, or whenever, since we still don't know who's still contagious, we might be sent straight back to square one.

That's exactly right. And it happens very often. This is especially egregious because (at least in Texas) ICE is allowed to camp out at police departments and pick up anybody who's been arrested, regardless of reason. (Source: My gf is an immigration attorney in Texas, bless her heart.)

What was your eighth grade like?