‘Very rare’: WHO says coronavirus seldom spreads through asymptomatic carriers
(Worthy News) – People with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 are not the driving force behind the spread of the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said during a press conference on Monday that it is “very rare” for asymptomatic people to widely spread coronavirus. Van Kerkhove said contact tracing of those who tested positive found that very few asymptomatic carriers gave the virus to others.
“From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” she said. “We have a number of reports from countries who are doing very detailed contact tracing. They’re following asymptomatic cases. They’re following contacts. And they’re not finding secondary transmission onward. It’s very rare.”