‘Rare’ for COVID-19 to be Spread by Asymptomatic Individuals says WHO Doctor

Published by Matt Fishman on

During the World Health Organization’s (WHO) daily briefing today on the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove stated it “appears to be rare that an asymptomatic individual transmits onward”.

Asymptomatic patients are those who have really mild disease or may not have COVID-like symptoms at all. Previously, the potential for spreading of COVID-19 by such individuals was a point of concern; However, now according to a number of reports “from countries who are doing very detailed contract tracing”, “it is very rare” for asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 to transfer the disease to a second person.

Dr. Van Kerkhove did clarify that only one report has been published so far, and that they “are constantly looking at this data” for any new findings.