COVID-19 virus can be spread by one patient for up to 37 days, finds study

A new study emphasizes the importance of isolating patients of COVID-19, due to the protracted period of time they can spread the virus to others. A study published in The Lancet examined the length of time the virus is spread from one person’s body, known as the duration of viral shedding, finding it may be up to 37 days. Another study threw light on people who carry the virus for more than a week without developing symptoms. The findings give policymakers more to scratch their heads about as they work to design optimal containment measures. Chinese researchers have published a new study of Wuhan’s COVID-19 outbreak in The Lancet. Looking at a sample of 191 patients, the median duration of viral shedding in survivors was judged to be 20 days, or up to 37 days in the longest cases. The virus was also found after death in patients who did not survive.Huang Li-minInfectious Diseases Society of TaiwanThis is a very new virus. We already know that our immune system doesn’t respond very effectively to it. This makes it harder to prevent the virus spreading. The longer the duration of viral shedding, the longer you need to isolate and manage patients.The virus seems to be quite good at taking advantage of human immune systems. Officials have decided that two tests coming out negative are no longer sufficient proof you’re clear of the infection.Cen Shih-chungCentral Epidemic Command CenterMany people take multiple tests and it goes negative, negative, positive, positive, switching like that from negative to positive. When the passengers from the Diamond Princess left quarantine centers, they had been tested five times. Only then were we satisfied they could leave.U.S. public health researchers have analyzed the incubation period of COVID-19. Looking at a sample of 181 patients, they found the median incubation period to be 5.1 days, similar to SARS. More than 97% of patients developed symptoms within 11.5 days of catching the virus. Those with no symptoms after 12 days might be considered symptomless carriers.Huang Li-minInfectious Diseases Society of TaiwanMost people exhibit symptoms when the viral load reaches a certain level. So the longer the incubation period, the slower the virus is reproducing. With a long incubation period, you can assume this person’s viral load is lower, and their symptoms may be milder. But that’s also not necessarily true.The COVID-19 virus is proving quite tricky to get a handle on, even with scientists and policy experts around the world racing to figure out its secrets.

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This is Taiwanese news not Mainland Chinese. Taiwan is the only country that could successfully stop the virus from spreading so we should listen them more.