BEIJING : China said 300 symptomless carriers of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, had not been found to be infectious, in a bid to reassure people as countries ease restrictions.
But some experts say asymptomatic infections are common, presenting a huge challenge in the control of the disease. What is asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines asymptomatic cases as those who don't show symptoms but have been confirmed infected through a lab test.
WHO notes there are few reports of truly asymptomatic cases. The incubation period, or the time a person takes to show symptoms after getting infected, is the pre-symptomatic phase, the WHO says.