Four days after China announced that there were no new coronavirus cases in Wuhan, at the center of its outbreak, people were still reporting testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
This raises concerns that the virus could still be spreading in the city. “There are still a few or a dozen asymptomatic people every day. It can’t be determined whether transmission has been completely cut off in Wuhan,” said a Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official, referring to people who have the virus but show no symptoms.
Some asymptomatic people catch the virus but don’t produce or display any symptoms, including fever, cough, or muscle pain. These people have been reported in several countries as the virus spreads to roughly 170 countries or regions, killing more than 18,900 and sickening over 423,600. Thankfully, over 108,600 have recovered.
Experts warn that even though asymptomatic carriers don’t have symptoms, it doesn’t mean they can’t get others sick; they can still transmit the virus to others. These asymptomatic people complicate efforts to stop the spread.
Many countries, including South Korea, count everyone who’s tested positive as a confirmed case. However, China doesn’t include asymptomatic cases in its official count and doesn’t provide the numbers of people in this category, which means the “zero new cases” can’t be taken at face value.
By the end of February, over 43,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 without showing immediate symptoms.
How did they find out people were infected if they had no symptoms? Asymptomatic coronavirus carriers in the city of Wuhan were found when patients were admitted to the hospital for medical observation after working at quarantine sites, in areas with an elevated risk of exposure, or coming into close contact with a sick person. Once the patients tested positive, they were isolated for two weeks, and if they show any symptoms, then they will be classified as a confirmed case.
After the official count of new cases dropped to zero, doctors and nurses who were sent to Wuhan began leaving the city. However, China CDC officials are asked to stay for a more extended period of time as there are still some concerns with the situation in Wuhan and the Hubei region.
Iceland has tested a higher percentage of its residents than any other country. According to the country’s chief epidemiologist, Thorolfur Gudnason, about 50% of those who tested positive had no symptoms of the virus.
