healthUpdated: Nov 20, 2020, 11:06 ISTAlthough the genetic material of the novel coronavirus may still be detected in the respiratory or stool samples of COVID-19 patients for several weeks, no infectious virus particle was found beyond nine days of symptom onset, a new study says. The research, published in The Lancet Microbe journal, noted that people with the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection are most likely to be highly infectious from symptom onset and the following five days. With many countries currently recommending that people with a SARS-CoV-2 infection should self-isolate for 10 days, the scientists said this is in line with their findings. “In patients with non-severe symptoms, their period of infectiousness could instead be counted as 10 days from symptom onset,” he added. “The majority of studies included in our review were performed in patients who were admitted to hospital.

Source: Hindustan Times November 20, 2020 05:37 UTC