Coronavirus patients most infectious when they first feel unwell: WHO

FILE PHOTO: People queue to shop ahead of a nationwide 21-day lockdown called by the government to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 28, 2020. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo

Studies show people with the coronavirus are most infectious just at the point when they first begin to feel unwell, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Tuesday.

This feature has made it so hard to control the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, but it can be done through rigorous testing and social distancing, they said.