Yes. A March 16 study developed by The University of Texas at Austin found that more than 10 percent of patients are infected by somebody who has the virus but does not yet have symptoms.
Asymptomatic transmission is one of the things that definitely makes containment more difficult.
The main way the disease spreads is through respiratory droplets expelled by someone who is coughing. The risk of catching COVID-19 from someone with no symptoms at all is very low. However, many people with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. This is particularly true at the early stages of the disease. It is therefore possible to catch COVID-19 from someone who has, for example, just a mild cough and does not feel ill. WHO is assessing ongoing research on the period of transmission of COVID-19 and will continue to share updated findings.
A recent virologic study, dated 10 March 2020, led by researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that the novel coronavirus quickly begins producing high viral loads, sheds efficiently, and grows well in the upper respiratory tract (nose, mouth, nasal cavity, and throat).
The findings contrasted starkly with those from the 2003 outbreak of SARS in terms of viral load. “In SARS, it took 7 to 10 days after onset until peak RNA concentrations (of up to 5×105 copies per swab) were reached,” the researchers wrote. “In the present study, peak concentrations were reached before day 5, and were more than 1,000 times higher.”
Sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200316143313.htm
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