Asymptomatic spread seems to be rare, but global COVID-19 situation worsening: WHO

Amid the raging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday pointed out that the spread of the virus by asymptomatic persons appears to be rare. However, the organisation also warned nations against complacency by clarifying that the global condition due to the pandemic outbreak was only "worsening".

Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's technical lead for coronavirus response and head of the emerging diseases and zoonoses unit, on Monday said that from the currently available data, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a second individual.

While addressing a media briefing in Geneva, she said, "We have a number of reports from countries who are doing very detailed contact tracing. They're following asymptomatic cases, they're following contacts and they're not finding secondary transmission onward. It is very rare -- and much of that is not published in the literature. We are constantly looking at this data and we're trying to get more information from countries to truly answer this question. It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic individual actually transmits onward."

Van Kerkhove also described how coronavirus, a respiratory pathogen, spreads through droplets, which are released through coughing or sneezing.

"It passes from an individual through infectious droplets. If we actually followed all of the symptomatic cases, isolated those cases, followed the contacts and quarantined those cases, we would drastically reduce -- I would love to be able to give a proportion of how much transmission we would actually stop -- but it would be a drastic reduction in transmission," the senior WHO official said.

However, the director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made it a point to clarify that the situation around the globe is worsening, although it is improving in specific pockets, like in Europe. He said that each day is recording its highest daily tally of new infections, especially since the coronavirus is in full swing in the Americas.

This comes amid raging protests against racial injustice in the United States of America, where people have taken to the streets en masse to demonstrate against racial inequality, systemic oppression, and police brutality. Thereby, the WHO chief said that the organisation supports equality and the global movement against racism but also encouraged the protesters around the world to demonstrate safely, as much as possible, by following the proper safety protocols and guidelines.