Explainer: What it means to be asymptomatic to the coronavirus

In medicine, a person is considered asymptomatic if he or she is a carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms.

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A condition might be asymptomatic if it fails to show the noticeable symptoms with which it is usually associated.

Since the world was struck by the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as the COVID-19, the World Health Organisation has been coming up with the best ways to manage the pandemic.

One term that came up as the WHO outlined its new COVID-19 discharge policy is asymptomatic patients

Per the earlier definition, this category of COVID-19 infected individuals might have tested positive to the virus yet, they do not show any sign and symptom of the virus.

YEN.com.gh understands that most people do not exactly know what it means to be asymptomatic and also don't know exactly how to act as an asymptomatic patient of coronavirus.

READ ALSO: Carlos Ahenkorah denies claims; says he was not on admission at the ICU

The WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria Van Kerkhove, made it very clear that the actual rates of asymptomatic transmissions aren’t yet known.

Maria noted that it is very rare not to find secondary transmission onward from asymptomatic patients especially in the countries doing contact tracing.

Such individuals are expected to self-isolate until their test results come out clean and negative.

Here in Ghana, the former deputy minister of trade and industry, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, clearly stated in an interview that even though he was asymptomatic and was asked to self isolate until he got better, he had to visit a registration centre.

In his interview, he stated that he and several others who were asymptomatic were not at the risk of dying hence, they could do anything like non-infected persons can.

It is clear that he did not really know that he could be putting a lot of people at risk by carelessly stepping out and breaching the COVID-19 safety protocols

According to statnews.com, asymptomatic, or presymptomatic people still expel infectious droplets through singing, yelling, or even talking.

It is important to note that even though Carlos Ahenkorah was asymptomatic, he could infect others while talking to them.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: I visited the registration centre even though positive - Carlos Ahenkorah

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the Member of Parliament for the Tema West constituency, Carlos Ahenkorah, was earlier reported to have visited a registration centre in his constituency despite his positive COVID-19 status.

According to him, he wasn't in the intensive care unit of the Korle Bu teaching hospital because he was not exhibiting symptoms as the other patients do. thus, making him asymptomatic.

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Source: YEN.com.gh