Asymptomatic Spread of COVID-19 More Prevalent than Once Thought

From the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists have worried that people who have no symptoms of COVID-19 could pass the disease on to others. Evidence so far has been largely anecdotal, but a new study conducted in South Korea offers more definitive proof that people without symptoms carry just as much virus in their nose, throat, and lungs as those with symptoms, and for almost as long. “It does confirm what we’ve suspected for a long time — that asymptomatic cases can transmit infection,” epidemiologist Benjamin Cowling said.