Table 3.
Symptom severity, healthcare use, and suspected causes of symptoms, stratified by COVID-19 suspicion in individuals positive and negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
| COVID-19 diagnosed or suspected | COVID-19 not suspected | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies | n = 125 | n = 114 | |
| Symptom severity (%) | |||
| Asymptomatic | 4 (3.2) | 22 (19.3) | <0.001 |
| Only very mild symptoms | 17 (13.6) | 47 (41.2) | |
| Mild to severe symptoms | 104 (83.2) | 45 (39.5) | |
| Clinically suspected COVID-19 (%)a | 119 (95.2) | 55 (48.2) | <0.001 |
| Contacted a physician (%) | 15 (12.0) | 15 (13.2) | 0.947 |
| Admitted to hospital | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.9) | 0.477 |
| Likely cause of symptoms, if any (%) | |||
| Temporary illness | 106 (84.8) | 23 (20.1) | <0.001 |
| Chronic complaints | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.5) | |
| Unrelated circumstancesb | 5 (4.0) | 44 (38.6) | |
| Unknown | 10 (8.0) | 20 (17.5) | |
| Negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies | n = 435 | n = 2993 | |
| Symptom severity (%) | |||
| Asymptomatic | 31 (7.1) | 1017 (34.0) | <0.001 |
| Only very mild symptoms | 74 (17.0) | 1172 (39.2) | |
| Mild to severe symptoms | 330 (75.9) | 804 (26.9) | |
| Clinically suspected COVID-19 (%)a | 365 (83.9) | 982 (32.8) | <0.001 |
| Contacted a physician (%) | 50 (11.5) | 205 (6.8) | 0.001 |
| Admitted to hospital (%) | 1 (0.2) | 13 (0.4) | 1.000 |
Numbers (percentage within COVID-19 suspicion status) are shown; differences tested with χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test in the event of cells with expected counts <5.
a
According to clinical criteria of WHO COVID-19 Case Definition (see Method details).
b
Circumstances not related to COVID-19, such as allergies or trauma.