The incubation period for COVID-19 could be as long as 24 days — 10 days more than previously understood, a new study says.
China’s National Health Commission released new research that suggests that the standard 14-day quarantine period might not be enough to contain the spread of the virus, Business Insider reported.
The study, which was co-authored by Dr. Zhong Nanshan, who is credited with detecting SARS in 2003, determined that the incubation period for the new coronavirus ranges up to 24 days, with the average being three days.
The research, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, also suggested that patients can infect other people during the incubation period, echoing the findings of previous reports about the virus.
The new revelations raise questions about the necessary length of quarantine periods for the virus.
US officials have been ordering American evacuees from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to stay in isolation for 14 days in accordance with known incubation periods.
Questioned about the latest research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s a “really interesting report,” but the agency is also considering “all the other data that’s available.”
“I would say the incubation period is obviously really important for us as we look to make sure that we’re releasing these people safely from quarantine, but the abundance of data that is available still is consistent with our current stance, which is to use 14 days as the end of that incubation period,” Dr. Nancy Messonier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters Wednesday in a conference call.
The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,300 people and infected more than 48,000 in China.