Coronavirus: The Mystery of 'Silent Spreaders'

As the crisis has unfolded, scientists have discovered more evidence about a strange and worrying feature of the coronavirus. While many people who become infected develop a cough, fever and loss of taste and smell, others have no symptoms at all and never realise they're carrying Covid-19.

Researchers say it's vital to understand how many are affected this way and whether "silent spreaders" are fuelling the pandemic.

When people gathered at a church in Singapore on 19 January, no-one could have realised that the event would have global implications for the spread of coronavirus. It was a Sunday and, as usual, one of the services was being conducted in Mandarin. Among the congregation at The Life Church and Missions, on the ground floor of an office building, was a couple, both aged 56, who'd arrived that morning from China.

As they took their seats, they seemed perfectly healthy so there was no reason to think they might be carrying the virus. At that time, a persistent cough was understood to be the most distinctive feature of Covid-19 and it was seen as the most likely way to transmit it. Having no symptoms of the disease should have meant having no chance of spreading it.

The couple left as soon as the service was over. But shortly afterwards, things took a turn for the worse, and in a wholly confusing way. The wife started to become ill on January 22, followed by her husband two days later. Because they had flown in from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, that was no big surprise.

But over the following week, three local people also came down with the disease for no obvious reason, leading to one of Singapore's first and most baffling coronavirus cases. Working out what had happened would lead to a new and disturbing insight into how the virus was so successfully finding new victims. Read More

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Coronavirus: What Are Social Distancing and Self-isolation Rules?

Many people who are spreading the COVID-19 virus are themselves not experiencing any symptoms and may not be aware that they are infected with the virus. Some are aware that they are positive for the COVID-19 virus are engaging in unrestricted activities rather than self-isolating or taking other precautionary measures like wearing a face mask because they do not feel sick or they dismiss the danger that they pose to others. The United Kingdom will be easing its lockdown restrictions on Monday as has have a number of states in the United States and several countries in the European Union. The rules are different in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. A number of states that have eased their lockdown restrictions are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. As in the United States crowds of people are flouting social distancing and other precautionary measures and gathering on beaches and at other recreational spots in the United Kingdom. In my own county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky the number of confirmed cases in the county was 49 as of this weekend, showing a slow but steady rise in COVID-19 cases. Confirmed cases represent the tip of the iceberg. As states ease lockdown restrictions, the public should as a general rule follow the more stringent of the precautionary measures. The easing of these restrictions is largely a political and economic decision. It does not mean that the COVID-19 virus has gone away.