HYDERABAD: Health Minister Eatala Rajender had recently said more than 80 per cent of the COVID-19 patients at Gandhi Hospital are asymptomatic or had tested positive when they had no symptoms of the viral infection. While some argue that this is due to the increased incubation period of the novel Coronavirus, experts say that visible symptoms depend on a person’s immunity, age and co-morbidity.

Speaking to Express, Dr A Rafi, a well-known pulmonologist, said, “Healthcare workers and scientists have noticed that the virus adversely affects two most vulnerable categories of people — senior citizens or people with critical co-morbidity such as history of cardiovascular diseases or hypertension. However, the virus does not seem to do much harm to younger people or even children.

Thus, the trend of asymptomatic people could arise from the fact that people who have tested positive without symptoms may have no co-morbidity or better immune systems.” Another doctor working in the triage ward at Gandhi Hospital said, “It is true that most of the patients have almost no to very mild symptoms. The mild symptoms would include runny nose, a mild fever, or sneezing/coughing.

They are just being given symptomatic treatment. On the other hand, the elderly patients, most of whom have been classified as pneumonia patients, have much adverse symptoms such as breathing issues and pneumonia. In addition to that, of the daily SARI cases that come to pulmonology department, many have tested positive for Covid and shifted to ICUs.”