Mass antigen testing has been proposed as a possible cost-effective tool to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. We test the impact of a voluntary mass testing campaign implemented in the Italian region of South Tyrol on the spread of the virus in the following months. We do so by using an innovative empirical approach which embeds a semi-parametric growth model - where Covid-19 transmission dynamics are allowed to vary across regions and to be impacted by the implementation of the mass testing campaign - into a synthetic control framework which creates an appropriate control group of other Italian regions. We find that the mass test campaign decreased the growth rate of Covid-19 by 39% which corresponds to a reduction in the total additional cases of 18%, 30% and 56% within ten, twenty and forty days from the intervention date, respectively. Our results suggest that mass testing campaigns are useful instruments for mitigating the pandemic.

翻译：作为遏制Covid-19大流行的一种可能具有成本效益的工具,提出了大规模抗原试验的建议。我们测试了在意大利南蒂罗尔地区实施的自愿大规模试验运动对病毒传播的影响。我们采用创新的经验方法这样做,这种方法将半参数增长模式 -- -- 允许Covid-19的传播动态在不同区域之间变化并受到大规模试验运动实施的影响 -- -- 嵌入一个合成控制框架,从而形成一个意大利其他地区的适当控制小组。我们发现大规模试验运动使Covid-19的增长率降低了39%,这相当于在干预日期后10天、20天和40天内分别将新增病例总数减少18%、30%和56%。我们的结果显示,大规模试验运动是缓解该流行病的有用工具。