An extensive study has revealed when people who have caught Covid are at their most infectious, and how long they are able to spread the virus.
According to the research, published in the Lancet Microbe, patients are most contagious within the first five days of displaying symptoms as this is when their viral load is at its highest.
The study also found that patients possess the 'live' virus - which is capable of replicating and therefore spreading - up to nine days after the first signs of symptoms.
As reported by The Mirror, another key finding was the confirmation that even those who do not appear to be sick can still spread the virus if they catch it.
While it remains unknown at what frequency asymptomatic people spread Covid, it is likely to be lower than those with visible symptoms.
The research comes as restrictions are eased across the country - with England set to drop restrictions altogether - despite surging cases.
The spike in positive tests is due to the Delta variant of the virus which spreads faster than previous variants.
However, due to the country's vaccination program, the link between Covid cases and hospitalisations and deaths has been drastically weakened.
Oyungerel Byambasuren, a biomedical researcher at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia, conducted a review that found asymptomatic individuals were 42 per cent less likely to pass it on.
If the findings are accurate, it would mean "these people are not the secret drivers of this pandemic”, says Byambasuren.
They “are not coughing or sneezing as much, they’re probably not contaminating as much surfaces as other people”.
Experts have stressed that although it remains unclear how infectious asymptomatic people are, anyone who tests positive for the virus could pass it on and should immediately self-isolate.
