Recent researched has uncovered some interesting information regarding the new coronavirus. It would appear that even asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 are able to fully contaminate their surroundings. This has been a matter of debate for a long time during the pandemic and, if the results of the study are correct, then this is certainly a grim thing.
What Are the Implications?
The fact that asymptomatics can spread the disease is a bad thing for the spreading of COVID-19 within a community and especially for healthcare workers, as them getting infected can make a lot of sick people get the virus as well. All in all, only problems would appear if this is really true.
What Did We Previously Think?
Before the study, the consensus within the medical community was that an array of objects, such as furniture and clothing, are probable to transmit the virus. However, it had not been looked into well enough if people that have COVID-19 can contaminate their rooms, or if they have to leave their respiratory droplets on surfaces to cause that.
Zhiyong Zong, PHD, a doctor from the department of infection control, in the Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, part of the West China Hospital, has recently explained that the fact that a patient is in a negative pressure room can often lead to a false sense of security, without doing much to actually prevent the spread of the disease. Negative pressure rooms were designed to fight against the spreading of the disease, as, theoretically, organisms that can cause symptoms cannot exit the room. Unfortunately, the results of the study performed by Zong’s team seem to indicate that, for the negative pressure rooms to work, they must be thoroughly cleaned.
The Results of the Study
Zong and his researchers took samples from the surroundings of the patients, including the air, in six different negative pressure rooms. 13 patients with COVID-19 lived there, including 2 that presented no symptoms. Out of the tested surfaces, 39.3% were found to contain the new coronavirus, even in the rooms with asymptomatic people.