3 ms·
> "Evidence suggests asymptomatic carriers can not spread the virus." I don't understand this. How would that even work? If you're infected, what would stop yo
by antonvs 7y ago
> "Evidence suggests asymptomatic carriers can not spread the virus."
I don't understand this. How would that even work? If you're infected, what would stop you from shedding virus like anyone else? Is there a precedent for this, for respiratory viruses?
- hilbertseries 7y agoBoth SARS and MERS were not particularly contagious during the incubation phase.
- vikramkr 7y agoTyphoid Mary was a real thing. No matter the precedent for a particular class of virus, this is still a different virus that has clearly evolved higher virulence, and better safe than sorry. In this case, we're sorry
- notatoad 7y agoI think the rationale behind this argument was a thought/hope that the disease was primarily being spread by sneezing or coughing, and if you weren't doing that then you weren't going to spread it.
- Symmetry 7y agoInfluenza starts being contagious a few days before symptoms start and stops being contagious a few days before symptoms end, so yes. But the profile for SARS-CoV-2 is particularly front-loaded compared to other viruses where peak infectivity is basically right as symptoms appear. With many other diseases if you catch all symptomatic cases that's enough to drive R well below 1 and from a public health perspective that's all you need.