Novel coronavirus is a silent manipulator. It enters a human body, multiplies silently from one strand to trillions of trillions of virus particles within days. Before an infected person starts showing symptoms of Covid-19, the novel coronavirus is ready to infect new healthy persons.
What does this modus operandi tell us?
That somebody may be infected with Covid-19 but feel perfectly fine. This is how people have spread the novel coronavirus from one corner of the world to everywhere.
According to the World Health Organisation, some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell. These people are most likely to infect others unwittingly and unintentionally.
Most people (about 80 per cent), says the WHO, recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Just one out of every six patients becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. The rest may carry on with their lives feeling healthy and fine but are actually infectious.
The most prominent example of this trend is South Korea’s Patient-31. The patient did not show symptoms for several days. She felt completely fine and did not heed to doctors’ advice for Covid-19 testing when she met with a minor accident. She went to public gatherings including a mass prayer, market and a buffet. She was later found to be the source of about 60 per cent of the total Covid-19 cases in South Korea.
In India, the first Covid-19 patient of Delhi and the suspected super spreader of the city felt completely healthy and carried on with their regular routine. They left a long trail of Covid-19 surveillance for the authorities to follow. The Tabligh Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin is another example of people feeling healthy but staying infectious.
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