Asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40% to 45% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days.
This is from Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Narrative Review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on June 3, 2020 and available for free download.
My wife told me this morning, she is afraid to go to the dentist now that their offices are open for her regular teeth cleaning. Wouldn’t it be great for her to know that the dentist and the hygienist are regularly tested for COVID?
If you are a person at home having a medical issue that in normal times would cause you to call 911, but you are hesitating because you are worried you might get COVID by going to the hospital, wouldn’t it be nice to know the people coming through your door are COVID free, and the people who will be treating you at the hospital are also free of COVID?
We send people into quarantine who are symptomatic and test positive for COVID, but very few asymptomatic health care workers are tested. We are dedicated to helping heal people, but we could be secret spreaders of a disease that has proven fatal to many Americans, particularly those over 80.
Health care organizations should be providing regular testing to their employees either on site or directing them to where they can get tested. Workers who test positive should be quarantined and paid by workers compensation.
Here are the all people in Connecticut who the state is calling for to be tested:
You have symptoms. (cough, fever, short of breath, loss of smell/taste)
You have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, or have been contacted by a Contact Tracer and informed you have been on touch with a confirmed COVID-19 case
You live or work in a nursing home or assisted living facility
You work in a DOC facility, and all inmates
You work or live in congregate or group housing
You are an at-risk resident in a high-risk community: densely populated cities like Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Danbury, Waterbury
First responders
Healthcare workers
Direct care employees and residents
There is no cost for COVID-19 testing. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act guarantees all Americans can receive free coronavirus testing.
If your are in Connecticut and your service is not providing you testing, here’s how you can get it done.
