CDC: Possible ‘community spread’ coronavirus case in Bay Area

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...

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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...

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