A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the UN health agency's technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete picture, in the comments she made Monday.

Van Kerkhove's remarks on Monday raised confusion and questions among outside experts and health officials who have recommended and in some places required that people wear masks to try to prevent the virus from spreading.

The “clarification” she provided during a WHO social-media chat showed many questions remain about whether infected people who don’t show symptoms of illness such as fever, dry cough or difficulty breathing can transmit the virus to others.

Van Kerkhove said: “What I was referring to yesterday were very few studies, some two or three studies that have been published, that actually try to follow asymptomatic cases.”

“That’s a very small subset of studies,” she continued. “I used the phrase ‘very rare,’ and I think that that’s (a) misunderstanding to state that asymptomatic transmission globally is very rare. What I was referring to was a subset of studies.”

Share:
More In Culture
Florida Swan Check-Ups
Back in 1957, the late Queen Elizabeth II gifted a pair of swans to Lake Morton in Lakeland, Florida. Now there are around 50 swans from the original royal pair and each year they are rounded up and given an annual medical check-up to make sure they're all healthy.
On The Scene: Apartment Therapy's Small/Cool NYC Exhibit
Design and lifestyle company Apartment Therapy has brought back its annual Small/Cool NYC exhibit to showcase some of the biggest interior design trends. Maxwell Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy, joined Cheddar News to show some of the designs the company has come up with as well as some unique choices for living spaces of any size.
CEW Beauty Awards Finalist: Hero Cosmetics
It's the last day to vote for the annual CEW Beauty Awards. Ju Rhyu, co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics, a finalist in the Launch of the Year category, joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's Mighty Surface Patch which has become a sensation.
Load More