Coronavirus second wave: China reports new 1,541 asymptomatic cases as trend reverses

Beijing, Apr 01: China on Wednesday said it has more than 1,541 asymptomatic (tested positive but are not showing symptoms) coronavirus cases, under medical observation on the Chinese mainland as of Monday, including 205 imported cases, China's top health body said.

Of 36 new cases reported Wednesday, 35 were imported from abroad.

The data disclosure for the the first time was followed by public calls for transparency about the size of the asymptomatic carrier population, which has become one of the biggest risks to China's battle against the pandemic.

China says all detected asymptomatic coronavirus cases and their close contacts must undergo 14-day centralised quarantine.

Why asymptomatic coronavirus carriers aren't as contagious but still a big danger

Asymptomatic coronavirus cases refer to people who have extremely mild or no symptoms of the infection but test positive for it.

A study conducted in Iceland, which involved random coronavirus testing, showed that about 50% of people who tested positive for the virus had no symptoms at all. This adds to concerns that the asymptomatic population may be larger than anyone expected and could be behind the rapid spread.

The asymptomatic patients have strong physical immunity or carry weak virus with less virulence.

According to Yang Zhanqiu, a Wuhan-based virologist,, this is why they don't show symptoms but still spread the virus in the early stage of infection. Asymptomatic patients show no symptoms as the majority of them could be in the incubation period.