MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rahul Subramanian PhD candidate Department of Ecology and Evolution Biological Sciences Division University of Chicago Chicago, IL 60637 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Understanding the proportion of COVID-19 cases that become symptomatic, as well as the extent to which people without symptoms contribute to COVID-19 transmission, has important public health implications. However, changes in PCR testing capacity over time have made these quantities hard to estimate precisely. We used a model that incorporates daily changes in PCR testing capacity, cases, and serology to precisely estimate the proportion of cases that were symptomatic in New York City during the initial wave of the outbreak. Only 1 in 7 to 1 in 5 cases were symptomatic. Furthermore, non-symptomatic cases of the virus (this includes people who are either pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) substantially contribute to community transmission, making up at least 50% of the driving force of SARS-CoV-2 infection.  (more…)