'Unusual, But Not Implausible,' Say Doctors as Australian Covid-19 Patient Becomes Infected in One Day

A nurse speaks with patients at the door of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) clinic opening at Mount Barker Hospital in Adelaide, Australia. (Reuters)

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd gave no details of how the patient was infected in New South Wales state or whether that patient infected anyone else before COVID-19 was diagnosed.

Associated Press Canberra
Last Updated: July 16, 2020, 4:41 PM IST

Australian authorities say a COVID-19 patient apparently became infectious within a day of contracting the coronavirus.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd gave no details of how the patient was infected in New South Wales state or whether that patient infected anyone else before COVID-19 was diagnosed.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the country's peak decision-making body for public health emergency, reported such a short incubation was "unusual," but "not implausible," Kidd said.

People usually develop symptoms within five to seven days but may become infectious a day or two before their symptoms develop, Kidd said.

A person becoming infectious within 24 hours was unlikely to be evidence of the virus changing, Kidd said. It more likely reflected differences in individual reactions to the virus, he said.