How To Deal With People With Asymptomatic Infection Around Them?
Expert introduction
Cui Dan: Deputy Director and Researcher, Department of Global Health, School of Health, Wuhan University
Jiang Rongmeng: Member of the Expert Group of the National Health and Health Commission and Chief Physician of Infectious Disease Diagnosis and Research Center of Beijing Ditan Hospital
Q: What if there are asymptomatic people around me?
Answer: Cui Dan said that strictly speaking, asymptomatic infections are divided into two categories, one is the incubation period of COVID-19 virus patients, currently asymptomatic because there is no disease, and may be converted to a confirmed case in a few days, this Infected people are definitely contagious. The other type is asymptomatic infected people who actually carry the virus but have no clinical manifestations. The virus in this type of human body has not been cleared, nor has the disease occurred, and it is in a state of coexistence with the virus. According to authoritative experts such as Zhong Nanshan, asymptomatic infections in the latter case are relatively infectious.
Cui Dan said that there is no way of knowing whether these two types of asymptomatic people are around. In line with the principle of “preventing strict enemies”, strengthening personal protection is the most effective preventive method. The main methods are to wash hands frequently, wear masks when going out, and maintain an appropriate distance.
Jiang Rongmeng said that some people are worried about being infected with asymptomatic people around them, and some are worried that they may be passed on to others by asymptomatic people. Although asymptomatic patients do not go to the clinic because they are asymptomatic, it is not easy to be found and has certain infectivity, but only if there is no protection, close contact with asymptomatic patients with positive nucleic acid tests can be infected. It can be prevented by keeping a safe social distance (such as 1-2 meters). For the public, if there are no symptoms, there is no close contact history of COVID-19 virus infection, unless you participate in the investigation, you can not go to the test.
Question: What is the proportion of people with asymptomatic infections in Wuhan?
A: The reporter learned from relevant departments that in the eight days from April 8 to 15, Wuhan City completed a total of 275,400 nucleic acid tests, and detected 182 asymptomatic infections, accounting for about 6.6 per 10,000.
Cui Dan said that the number of asymptomatic infections and the number of diagnoses should be positively correlated, and our city has maintained zero new cases of confirmed cases for many consecutive days, so it can be determined that there will not be a large proportion of asymptomatic infections in Wuhan. Don’t scare yourself, don’t believe rumors.
In addition, in order to understand the transmission characteristics, epidemiological characteristics and pathogenic laws of asymptomatic infected persons, China has carried out sera epidemiological investigations of asymptomatic infected persons simultaneously in 9 provinces and cities, including Wuhan. Specific measures include reporting within 2 hours and completing the epidemiological investigation of asymptomatic patients within 24 hours. Identify possible close contacts of asymptomatic patients as early as possible, and take 14 days of concentrated isolation medical observation. If the relevant personnel develop symptoms during the isolation medical observation, they will be immediately transferred to the designated medical institution for treatment.
Q: Can an asymptomatic infected person recover after 14 days of isolation, without being contagious?
Answer: Jiang Rongmeng said that recently, the State Council has issued the COVID-19 Virus Asymptomatic Infection Management Regulations for the New Coronavirus Infection Pneumonia Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, proposing to strengthen the management of asymptomatic infections. Asymptomatic infections should Concentrated medical observation for 14 days.
Patients with clinical symptoms and signs related to COVID-19 were converted to confirmed cases. Those who have concentrated medical observation for 14 days and have two consecutive negative nucleic acid tests (with a sampling time of at least 24 hours apart) can be released from concentrated medical observation. Those who still have positive nucleic acid tests and no clinical symptoms need to continue concentrated medical observation.
In addition, the “Standards” pointed out that for asymptomatic patients who have been released from centralized medical observation, medical observation and follow-up will continue for 14 days. After the release of the concentrated medical observation, the follow-up visits will be conducted at designated hospitals in the second and fourth weeks to keep abreast of their health status. Therefore, it can be said that the management of asymptomatic infected persons is relatively strict and thorough.