None of us has symptoms, none of us has been exposed, none of us is high-risk.
We dont even have many cases in our area.
Why do we still have to isolate ourselves as much as possible?
Getty / Essa Balghonaim / EyeEm; Designed by Morgan Johnson
The short answer: Because we know that the new coronavirus can spread before people have symptoms.
And we know thatnot everyone is getting tested.
This is why we all need to besocial distancingeven when it seems like it shouldnt apply to you.
This is how a virus spreads.
The new coronavirus mostlyseems to be spreadingvia droplet transmission.
These droplets can also land onsurfaces, like countertops and doorknobs, which you might then touch.
Once the virus is in your body, it can attach to and drop your cells.
Unfortunately, it doesnt always work like that.
Research does back up the idea that people are likely spreading the new coronavirus before they have symptoms.
That amounted to 46.5% of those with positive testsso almost half.
We still dont know exactly when in the incubation period someone starts being contagious.
A small percentage of people seem not to show symptoms until closer to 14 days.
But that still doesnt tell us exactly when during the incubation period a person can spread the virus.
Colijn is currently working on a project to figure this out.
And what about people who test positive but never seem to develop symptoms?
They apparently remained asymptomatic.
Data on those who are completely asymptomatic is a major gap right now, Colijn says.
If people can spread the virus before they have symptoms, controlling the spread requires drastic measures.
For now, were still left with questions about how and when asymptomatic and presymptomatic COVID-19 spread is occurring.
Yes, as Petit notes, it can seem completely counterintuitive that you could have COVID-19 but feel fine.
Theres really no way around that.
We cant just assume that we would know if someone was transmitting the virus.
Because, at this point, we dont.
We will be unlikely to control this by only isolating ill people, Colijn says.
[Theres] need for broader measureskeeping away from each othereven if we dont know that we are sick.
She also cautions patience and notes that we wont see the effects of social distancing immediately.
So take heart, she adds.
We hope to see the results soon.
