A new study conducted by a team of researchers in China has found that COVID-19 patients may be contagious with coronavirus three days before they start showing symptoms. The researchers who took part in the study warned that the results could have major implications while formulating measures to curb the spread of the deadly pandemic.
Milestone research that could help coronavirus curb measures
The new study was led by Eric Lau of the University of Hong Kong, and during the research, experts analyzed the case history of 94 patients who were admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital in China.
Analysis conducted on the throat swab revealed that the coronavirus patients had the highest viral loads at the onset of symptoms.
"In total, 414 swabs were analyzed, and the authors found that the patients had the highest viral load at the onset of symptoms. From here, the authors inferred that infectiousness started 2.3 days before symptoms appeared and peaked at 0.7 days before their appearance. They estimated that 44% of secondary cases were infected during the pre-symptomatic stage, with infectiousness predicted to decrease quickly within 7 days," said the researchers, Fox News reports.
Coronavirus latest updates
As of now, coronavirus has killed more than 1,26,830 people worldwide, and the total number of infected patients has risen to two million. The United States is one of the countries that is facing the deadly killing spree of COVID-19, and the pandemic has already killed more than 26,000 people in the country.
In the meantime, several political experts have now started claiming that lockdowns in most of the countries will usher in a new system of governance as leaders will be hesitant to give up the new powers.
"We have absolutely no reason to believe that the government agencies that are eager to expand their power in response to COVID-19 will be willing to see those authorities lapse once the virus is eradicated," said Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
