Coronavirus Warning: Those Exhibiting Mild Symptoms Might Be Highly Contagious

About 80% of COVID-19 patients exhibit mild symptoms. But, a new study reported that those with mild symptoms are likely to be extremely contagious soon after being infected.

In the study which is yet to be peer-reviewed, the researchers studied nine patients who tested positive but exhibited only mild cold symptoms could be highly contagious.

Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms emit high rates of the virus during the initial five days after being infected, The Telegraph reported.

“You don’t have to be seriously ill to pass the virus on to other people. This virus is spreading even in very asymptomatic patients,” the New York Post quoted Dr. Clemens Martin Wendtner, the study’s co-author.

According to the report, the 'peak shedding’ -- the period when these patients are the most infectious -- of the coronavirus virus is about 1,000 times higher than that of the SARS. The study authors opined that this is in another dimension compared to SARS.

The findings of their study highlighted the fact that large gatherings, including conferences and sporting events, should be called off since COVID-19 can likely spread from people who don’t show any symptoms.

According to other health experts, the study shows that a bulk of people with mild symptoms have been transmitting the disease. So far, the deadly bug has spread to over 115,000 individuals in this manner.

“The present study shows that COVID-19 can often present as a common cold-like illness. SARS-CoV-2 can actively replicate in the upper respiratory tract and is shed for a prolonged time after symptoms end, including in stool. These findings suggest adjustments of current case definitions and re-evaluation of the prospects of outbreak containment,” the study concluded.

Those with potential exposure to COVID-19 are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. Per the experts at John Hopkins Medicine, it takes about 5.1 days until an infected person starts exhibiting symptoms. In about 97% of coronavirus cases, people develop symptoms within 12 days of being exposed. Only a small percentage of people might not exhibit any symptoms within the 2-week quarantine period.