100% asymptomatic

I have been curious about this for some time now and have seen no evidence from anywhere. From what we have gleaned so far from, Covid-19 seems to strike hard and spread fastest in environments which are dense, there are low hygiene standards, and where there are plenty of comorbidities. Elder care facilities meet two of those three criteria. Prisons and the homeless communities would seem also likely at risk. But I have seen no reports or research from any country so far to validate that assumption.

Until now. From CDC reviewing ‘stunning’ universal testing results from Boston homeless shelter by Drew Karedes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now “actively looking into” results from universal COVID-19 testing at Pine Street Inn homeless shelter.

The broad-scale testing took place at the shelter in Boston’s South End a week and a half ago because of a small cluster of cases there.

Of the 397 people tested, 146 people tested positive. Not a single one had any symptoms.

“It was like a double knockout punch. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100 percent of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking,” said Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which provides medical care at the city’s shelters.

O’Connell said that the findings have changed the future of COVID-19 screenings at Boston’s homeless shelters.

“All the screening we were doing before this was based on whether you had a fever above 100.4 and whether you had symptoms,” said O’Connell. “How much of the COVID virus is being passed by people who don’t even know they have it?”

A 37% infection rate and with 100% of those asymptomatic is pretty striking.

Early days yet to speculate what that might mean, but it is at least the first sign of data on a specific issue.