June 21, 2020 — Dr. Diana Nonković, head of Epidemiology at Split’s Public Health Institute, in an interview with N1 listed the most common symptoms found in COVID-19 patients, adding the resurgence of coronavirus in Split was not a cause for concern as long as authorities can trace the source of the infection.
“If we know that two thirds of our newly-infected patients are concentrated in a family and we know the path of infection and that cases have been imported, then it is not so terrible,” she said.
Asymptomatic patients make her job much more difficult.
“The virus is spreading very fast and it’s very contagious,” she said. “We saw that right at the beginning and that’s why we always try to test it promptly.”
A common symptom is the loss of sense of smell and taste and this is associated with the effect of the virus on the respiratory system, called anosmia. Many of the mildy-infected people had only this symptom.
Nonković added authorities banned visits to homes for the elderly, and yesterday the directors of the homes consulted with epidemiologists.
“According to the origin of the virus, we all expect it to be less manifest and less circulating during the warmer part of the year, but we are worried about our environment because if there is increased spread, it will happen in Croatia, and unscrupulous tourists can bring the virus, ” Nonković said when asked if the number of people infected with coronavirus could escalate.
