A very good graphic article in the Seattle Times, with statistical information about the symptoms of COVID19. Good, because this type of information tends to be anecdotal, and on the internet skewed towards the exception, rather than the norm. The information comes from WHO, King County Public Health, and doctors with University of Maryland and University of California, among other sources.
- 99% of the people who have the virus will have symptoms.
- On average, symptoms appear 5-6 days after infection, but may appear as few as 2 days, or as long as 14 days after exposure.
Many screening plans rely on mariners self-isolating 14-days before boarding the ship. While a mariner could show symptoms after 14-days of robust self-isolation they are not likely to do so, and if this were the case the symptoms would likely show up before boarding the vessel. There are no guarantees to this, but the idea of a screening plan is to play the percentages.
- 87.9% of people with symptoms have a fever.
- 67.7% have a cough.
- 18.6% have difficulty breathing.
Why is this important? If you’re repeatedly checking with mariners in self-isolation to see if they can sail, a case of the sniffles without a fever has a very low chance of being COVID19. Of course, you would consult with a doctor. But if your job is to staff a vessel, or you are a captain at sea with a worried crewmember with the sniffles, knowing the statistics allows you to make informed decisions.