CNN: New estimates show 25% to 50% of coronavirus carriers don't even have symptoms

[Mike 03]

CNN
Full Headline: New estimates show 25% to 50% of coronavirus carriers don't even have symptoms and can infect others blindly
11:16 AM ET, Wed April 1, 2020

(CNN)More data showing people without symptoms are fueling the spread of coronavirus have top officials rethinking whether the general public should be wearing masks.

New data out of Iceland shows 50% of those who tested positive said they were asymptomatic. In the US, an estimated 25% of coronavirus carriers have no symptoms, said the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"One of the (pieces of) information that we have pretty much confirmed now is that a significant number of individuals that are infected actually remain asymptomatic. That may be as many as 25%," CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told NPR.

To prevent further spread, the nation's top infectious disease expert says health officials are now re-examining guidance on face masks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would "lean towards" recommending that the general public wear face masks "if we do not have the problem of taking away masks from the healthcare workers who need them." If federal officials recommend the widespread use of face masks, it would be a stark reversal from recommendations by the World Health Organization and the CDC, who have said face masks should only be worn by health care workers, those who are sick, and those who are taking care of someone sick.

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/health/us-coronavirus-updates-wednesday/index.html

[underpants]

1. I figured that for some time.

[kentuck]

2. That is a good reason for everyone to wear a mask...

...in my opinion.

[EllieBC]

3. The only reason they said masks were useless

was to save them for first responders and health care workers. How could they be useless to some and a lifesaver to others?

They should have just been honest.

And even a little protection like the homemade cotton masks seems better than none. We need to rethink out cultural aversion to them.

[kentuck]

4. If they are "useless", why would healthcare workers use them??

If someone accidentally coughs, it would stop the larger droplets from traveling thru the air. The countries that have been using masks have shown a dramatic leveling of the virus.

[EllieBC]

6. There was a whole campaign

about how they won’t help most people and are even worse if you don’t know how to don and doff PPE properly.

Instead they should have just said, “hey we need all the masks we can get for our healthcare workers. Here are some easy-ish at home mask making ideas and when supplies go up, please buy some for yourself!”.

[kentuck]

8. Exactly.

Personally, I think the sooner we go to masks, the better off we will be.

Also, we should practice wearing at least one plastic glove.

[BusyBeingBest]

7. That's the logic that anyone with common sense would apply--

but the Surgeon General and others said we were too stupid to figure out how to wear them properly, and would try to "adjust" them and pick up the virus that way--therefore they wouldn't do us any good, unless we've been been through nursing or medical school. Never made any sense. They think we're that dumb.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Because Avoiding Close Contact...

...is impossible, Kentuck.
It's not impossible for me to stay 6 feet to 6 yards from the vast majority of the people I might come upon.
Med folks can't possible do that.
In addition, they are performing procedures that actually increase the chances of contact with spittle & mucous. They are absolutely necessary for that profession.
So, deciding to get masks before I know there is zero issue with health care professionals getting them is on hold.

[BusyBeingBest]

5. Unfortunately, no symptoms or mild symptoms equals no testing, so most people will never

find out if they've had it or have antibodies. Which means we all have to act like scared rabbits huddled in our burrows or being afraid to take a deep breath at the supermarket indefinitely.

[pat_k]

9. If face masks are recommended, they better come with cautions on fitting.

When you are fitted with a face mask as a health care worker, you are "challenged" with a chemical that tastes/smells horrible, If the mask doesn't fit properly, that smell / taste "getting through" is an unforgettable reminder of how easily aerosol infiltrates.

My fear is that people wearing poorly fitted masks will engage in activities they would not engage in if they were not wearing the poorly fitted mask. They'll have an utterly false sense of security. The protection of a poorly fitted mask may be more than nothing, but not by much.

[BusyBeingBest]

10. I don't think you need fit-testing to go pick up groceries.

That's all most people can do at this point anyway. A homemade mask falls into the better-than-nothing category--there's a big difference between a person who needs to pick up groceries for an hour or sit in a clinic waiting room versus a health care worker in close contact with sick people on a 12-hour shift.

[Hortensis]

11. On the big-plus side, it suggests more are developing immunity. nt

[DFW]

13. That's what I thought 2 months ago

75% of the world's population would get infected, but only a few per cent would ever notice it, and only a few per cent of them would need medical attention. Of course, when you're talking about 75% of 7 billion people, even a tiny fraction of that is enough to overwhelm any medical treatment center. The second most important trick is knowing who has it but shows NO symptoms, and THE most important trick is determining WHY.