Originally Posted by
wco81
There are about 400k cases worldwide.
You'd think we'd have more than accounts of asymptomatic transmission. There must be better data.
Knock yourself out on Google looking for more.
Here is another ...
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2001468
We cannot have an account unless we have ideal contact tracing to prove that asymptomatic transmission did occur rather than other community spread, and that means testing a bunch of asymptomatic people preferably in a population where the virus is not prevalent in the community. Where are those situations now?
Asymptomatic transmission is ingrained in our understanding of this virus. Many other viruses can shed/spread before symptoms.
Is it the primary way this virus spreads? No.
Sicker people with higher viral loads are going to spread more which is why all sick people must isolate.
The only reason the non-sick with no known contacts are semi-isolating is to give the healthcare system a more manageable surge of cases infected when most of us in Western countries did not even know what "social distancing" meant, and got infected. Not all of them have presented to the hospitals yet.