A new, peer-reviewed UK study shows that 86.1% of those who tested positive for the coronavirus did not report "core" symptoms associated with the virus on the day they took the test, CNBC reported. Core symptoms include fever, cough and loss of taste or smell.
As a result of these findings, researchers called for a "more widespread testing program," saying it is "necessary to capture 'silent' transmission and potentially prevent and reduce future outbreaks."
Researchers concluded that "COVID-19 symptoms are poor markers of CoV 2 (the new coronavirus)."“The fact that so many people who tested positive were asymptomatic on the day of a positive test result calls for a change to future testing strategies,” said University College London Prof. Irene Petersen, Forbes reported.
The study was conducted by the university's researchers and was published in the journal Clinical Epidemiology. It used a representative sample collected by the UK's Office for National Statistics data between April 26 and June 27.
It is possible that some or many of those who tested positive for the virus developed core symptoms at a later date.