Coronavirus: Georgia governor only just discovers that Covid-19 spreads before symptoms show

Public health officials have long known of asymptomatic transmission of the virus

The governor of Georgia said he only recently discovered that coronavirus patients could transmit the virus before they showed any symptoms, as he announced plans for a belated shelter-in-place order across the state.

Governor Brian Kemp had earlier urged Georgia residents to stay in their homes to prevent the spread of the virus, but resisted tougher measures seen in other states until Wednesday, when he made the discovery that had been in the public domain for some months.

"The reason I'm taking this action, like I've continued to tell people, I'm following the data, I'm following the advice of Dr. [Kathleen] Toomey," Mr Kemp said, referring to Georgia’s public health commissioner.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

"Finding out that this virus is now transmitting before people see signs, so what we've been telling people from directives from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] for weeks now that if you start feeling bad, stay home... those individuals could've been infecting people before they ever felt bad. But we didn't know that until the last 24 hours,” he said at a press conference. “This is a game-changer for us," he added.

Public health officials have long warned that the virus was spreading between humans before symptoms appeared. On January 31, America's top infectious disease doctor said there was "no doubt" that asymptomatic transmission was occurring after the publication of a study by German researchers. "This study lays the question to rest," said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

A number of scientific studies conducted in the US have since supported that claim. The current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that “some spread might be possible before people show symptoms, but that “this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Georgia currently has 4,638 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 139 deaths as of Wednesday, Mr Kemp said.

Mr Kemp said his stay-at-home order will go into effect on Thursday and last until April 13. All of the state’s public schools would remain closed for the rest of the year, he added.