NBC is acting like this was a widely-known fact back in January. In fact, presymptomatic transmission was only suspected until very recently. Most studies have suggested that it was possible, but not the primary means by which it is spread.
Even right now, the CDC’s website only says, “Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.”
He says that this is a ‘game changer.’
Well, it’s pretty common knowledge that viruses and diseases can be spread by asymptomatic people. The fact that it takes days for the virus to replicate in the body is sort of Darwinian survival ‘instinct’ for the virus - it enables itself to spread among people who don’t appear to be sick.
Everyone knows to stay away from people with the flu, to sanitize surfaces etc.
The CDC is for the most part inept and wasteful. That they would say “recent studies show.. may spread” is mostly nonsensical. It is probably true that they haven’t ‘proven it’ through studies, but hedging like this is dangerous. Everyone knows how flus spread.
In between all of the extremes about what causes the illness to spread and what doesn’t, there seems to be a suggestion that if you are exposed to more people with the virus, you get hit harder with it. As opposed to only being exposed to one person with it in the same room/bldg, you may only get ‘flu’.
I’m still trying to get the correct bearings on what is true and what is propaganda. But the last part seems to be a common theme from my reading.
“In fact, presymptomatic transmission was only suspected until very recently. “
Chinese, Korean and Japanese scientists published this fact in January. Only the willfully ignorant missed it.