A large amount of studies suggest that symptomless Coronavirus is more common than you think.
According to WHO, 8 in 10 cases of Coronavirus are either mild or asymptomatic, whilst the final 20% is broken down as 15% being severe and 5% being critical. But, obviously, this doesn’t outline how many people are asymptomatic only – meaning they display zero symptoms despite testing positive for the virus.
The CDC has done its own research into this, and suggested that as many as 7 in 20 people are totally asymptomatic, which is a lot.
However a 9,000 person study in Iceland suggests that up to 50% of people who contract the virus are asymptomatic… which is even more than the CDC suggested. But, it doesn’t stop there.
As many as 70-80% of people tested on infected cruise ships have been found be asymptomatic, with symptoms coming on at around day 8, for those who experienced them.
Professor Smyth, who has studied Coronavirus statistics like this and in particular, outbreaks on cruise ships, backs this figure at around 80%.
In a statement, he said to HuffPost UK: “It’s difficult to find a reliable estimate of the number of Covid positive patients who have no symptoms. In early March, WHO suggested the figure might be only 1% – very different from the 81% figure found on the cruise ship.”
If it’s true that such a large number of people have no symptoms, large numbers of populations will have had the virus without even knowing. This may even prevent a second peak, as so many people may have some sort of immunity – despite not knowing it.
But in regards to cruise ship cases and immunity, he concluded: “There’s no reason why the passengers and crew on the ship are any more likely than the general population to be infected with Covid-19 but have no symptoms.
“It’s therefore very plausible that the rate of 81% infected but symptom free might apply to the general population. This means that many more people may be (potentially) immune than was first thought.”
