Re:CDC: Possible ‘community spread’ coronavirus case in Bay ...
by taneq on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @10:47PM
(#22430247)
True. On the plus side, the higher the actual number of infections, the lower the death rates that we should be expecting. There's a growing consensus that the virus can spread asymptomatically which (while not good for containment) means we're only seeing a small fraction of cases and the death rate is going to be much more like that of the flu (which isn't great but also hasn't destroyed civilization as we know it).
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Re:CDC: Possible ‘community spread’ coronavirus case in Bay ...
by pmoriarty on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @11:03PM
(#22430332)
While there may be asymptomatic spread (it's too early to be certain of that yet either), "asymptomatic transmission likely plays a minor role in the epidemic overall, WHO says. People who cough or sneeze are more likely to spread the virus, the agency wrote"[1]
[1] - https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/paper-non-symptomati...
Re:CDC: Possible ‘community spread’ coronavirus case in Bay ...
by taneq on Thursday February 27, 2020 @07:02PM
(#22439308)
Counterpoint:
> US traders were particularly rattled by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirming a COVID-19 infection in California in a person who apparently had no relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient. [1]
One asymptomatic carrier may not infect many people but if they infect even one new person in an as-yet-uninfected population center they'll create a new outbreak. The only defense against this is universal testing, otherwise by the time you start seeing symptoms it's too late.
[1] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-28/asx-carried-away-in-w...