A new study has been released based on an analysis of new publicly available global data on infections for the coronavirus virus known as SARS-CoV-2 that causes the respiratory sickness COVID-19.1 The new more-comprehensive data has yielded an estimate of 5.1 days as the median disease incubation period (time of exposure to showing symptoms). The “average” represented by the median is essentially the middle point of the data set, so the actual range of values can vary, being either less or more than 5 days. These new results support the previous recommendation of a 14-day quarantine period given by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new data analysis also indicates that about 97.5 percent of people who develop symptoms of infection will typically exhibit them within 11.5 days of exposure. The researchers also estimated that for every 10,000 individuals being quarantined for the 14-day period, approximately 101 of them would develop symptoms following release from quarantine.
While these medical studies continue to inform us about the nature of this disease, it is important to always keep a biblical Genesis-based perspective on the subject. First, it’s imperative to understand that we live in a fallen world where pain and suffering were brought about by mankind’s rebellion to a Creator that initially made a “very good” world. In fact, this same loving Creator God sent His only Son to live a perfect sinless life and then offer himself up as a substitutionary sacrifice for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be restored in our relationship with Him and look forward to an afterlife void of the effects of evil. Therefore, these much beloved Bible verses in John 3:16-17 could not be more relevant in the midst of this global crisis:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
References
1. Lauer, S. A., et al. 2020. The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application. Annals of Internal Medicine. DOI: 10.7326/M20-0504
*Dr. Tomkins is Life Sciences Director at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his doctorate in genetics from Clemson University.
