Target asymptomatic Covid-19 cases to stop community spread: Chinese study
- People who test positive but show no sign of illness need to be isolated too, Peking University researchers say
- Screening and quarantine on arrival at airports needed to tackle high percentage of asymptomatic infections among travellers
“Screening for asymptomatic infection is required, especially for countries and regions that have successfully controlled Sars-CoV-2,” the team said, referring to the official name for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
“Asymptomatic infections should be under management similar to that for confirmed infections, including isolating and contact tracing.”
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The scientists based their assessment on the findings of 95 studies published between January 2020 and February this year covering nearly 30 million people who had undergone Covid-19 tests.
The results were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open on Wednesday.
The studies were mostly from Europe, North America and Asia.
According to the World Health Organization, a person infected with the coronavirus might not experience any symptoms and can transmit the virus to others without knowing.
The Peking University team found around 40 per cent of “community residents” who had Covid-19 were asymptomatic, raising the need for the general population to be tested.
