Serial Interval of COVID-19

Data are accumulating daily on transmission of novel SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. These data are vital in controlling the spread of this virus and terminating the current pandemic. Determination of the serial interval, the time between the start of symptoms in the primary patient (infector) and onset of symptoms in the patient receiving that infection from the infector (the infectee) is important in calculating the reproduction number (R₀), the number of infectees resulting from one infector. Published retrospective data from 468 reports on transmission of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China occurring outside Hubei province provide probable date of symptom onset for both infector and infectee. Researchers have now used thes…