Sicker with COVID-19, Also More Dangerous To Others

A recent publication in JAMA Internal Medicine supports the idea that if a person with COVID-19 is sicker, they are more contagious compared to asymptomatic cases. One is most likely to spread the virus to close contacts two days before the onset of symptoms to three days after symptoms appear. The risk of transmission is highest when patients had mild or moderate disease severity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia. Conversely asymptomatic cases had lower transmissibility. Maybe it is not a surprise? 

Data were drawn from a China study of 730 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, between Jan. 8, 2020, and July 30, 2020. In-depth study w contract tracing. This resulted in finding 8,852 close contacts. To date, this is one of the largest contact tracing studies.