More Rationale for Masking-Up: Viral Load May Be the Same for Symptomatic, Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients

Some people scoff at the idea of wearing a mask because they “feel fine” and “would know” if they were sick and likely to pass COVID-19 along to others they come in contact with. If you talk to patients with that belief, share the conclusions of an article just published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which reveals that symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients may be walking around with similar cycle thresholds. As the authors point out,  “An important implication of our findings is that there may be substantial underreporting of infected patients using the current symptom-based surveillance and screening.” While the study population was isolated in a quarantine center in Korea, the results still make a compelling argument for all individuals to wear a mask when in close proximity to others outside their households and for proactive testing, whether the patient is experiencing symptoms or not.