Important in the context of COVID‐19 is that the pathway is multifaceted because it is designed to care for the diseased individual and to protect the community from further spread. Decisions about patient and isolation pathways for COVID‐19 vary according to health services and settings, available resources, and stages of the epidemic. They will change over time, if and when effective treatments and vaccines are identified. The decision points between these pathways vary, but all include points at which knowledge of the accuracy of diagnostic information is needed to be able to inform rational decision making.