Using existing research, the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that silent transmission could be responsible for half of COVID-19 cases.
Researchers also found that more than one third of these infections would need to be identified and isolated in order to suppress a future outbreak -- though even immediate isolation of all symptomatic cases would not be enough to get the spread under control.
The model assumed that COVID-19 may be the most contagious during the pre-symptomatic state, which is uncommon for a respiratory infection.
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