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Mild Cases of COVID-19 May Have Helped Power the Current Pandemic — Here’s Why

In a small study, patients with mild COVID-19 infections were at greatest risk of spreading the virus within the first five days of developing symptoms.

By Jillian Mock
Apr 1, 2020 9:37 PMNov 3, 2020 4:56 PM
Population pandemic illustration coronavirus masks - Shutterstock
(Credit: Angelina Bambina/Shutterstock)

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The virus behind the global COVID-19 pandemic is a stealth operative. In some people, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) manifests with mild or no symptoms at all. These people then go about their normal lives and accidentally infect other people around them. Some of those people develop serious symptoms and end up in the hospital.  

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