WHO clarifies remark on asymptomatic spread, calls it 'misunderstanding'

Van Kerkhove said: What I was referring to yesterday were very few studies, some two or three studies that have been published, that actually try to follow asymptomatic cases

A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up "misunderstandings" about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronnoavirus.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the U.N. health agency's technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete picture, in the comments she made Monday.

Van Kerkhove's remarks on Monday raised confusion and questions among outside experts and health officials who have recommended and in some places required that people wear masks to try to prevent the virus from spreading.

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