📍DEAR REPORTERS—we need you to ask the WH what was the “Ct” value of #HopeHicks’s positive #COVID19 test. It would tell us the *viral load* and potentially how infectious she was Wednesday night! Someone ASK the “Ct” please!
2) To be clear, “People with higher viral loads may also shed more whole viruses, which makes them more contagious, compounding the danger of spreading disease more widely.” statnews.com/2020/04/14/how…
3) The “Ct” value is the cycle threshold of a PCR—it means how many amplification cycles the lab had to run to get the virus 🧬 amplified. The lower Ct the higher viral load: <30 means likely she was infectious. If it’s above 35, it might be too small dose. >40 is usually a neg.
4) In one #COVID19 study, they defined viral load as:
📌High viral load = CT value <25
📌medium viral load = CT value 25-30
📌low viral load = CT value>30
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
5) in that same study, they found high viral load of #COVID19 at hospitalization = higher mortality.
6) There is also an “incubation” time from exposure to symptoms (if any). But that varies widely. Average 5 days. But sometimes 2 days sometimes 14 days or even occasionally longer. So exposure of initial infection doesn’t mean instantly contagious to others.
7) Hope Hick’s incubation time matters a bit here. And her infectious period which starts BEFORE symptoms started Wednesday. 👇
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