What is the duration of viral shedding?
In 248 COVİD-19 patients, the estimated median time from symptom onset to viral clearance in the nasal swabs was 11 days, while in asymptomatic cases it was 2 days.254 In patients that recovered, the median duration of viral shedding was ⁓20 days, while in non-survivors it was detected until death. The longest duration of viral shedding in survivors was 37 days.95 In addition, non-SARS-CoVs have been shown to be carried in the human respiratory tract without any current infection;255 this type of carrier may serve as a silent reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, thus contributing to its transmission. Cai et al. analyzed the clinical characteristics of 298 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and found that a slow viral clearance is associated with an increased risk of high disease severity with a 1% mortality rate.256