Background
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viral diseases continue to emerge and become a serious issue to public health. Several viral epidemics such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2002 to 2003, H1N1 influenza in 2009, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV-2) which was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, are threatening the world in the last twenty years. In a timeline, an epidemic of cases with unexplained low respiratory infections detected in Wuhan, China emerged at the beginning of December 2019. The disease was reported to WHO on December 31, 2019, and WHO launched the disease in Corona Virus Disease-2019(COVID-19). The disease is declared as international concern public health risk on January 30, 2020(1).
Coronavirus Disease 2019 is currently affecting more than 210 countries worldwide. According to the report on April 28, 2020, around 3,221,617 cases and 228,263 deaths recorded globally. According to these figures, the case fatality rate (CFR) is around 7% even the rate is varied across countries(2). With the presence of a great trade relationship between Africa and China, and with the absence of equipped and modern public health system, Africa is in a greater risk of introduction and spread of the disease(3). According to WHO COVID-19 updated report on April 29, 2020, there are 36,456 confirmed cases and 1,586 deaths in Africa, 130 case and three deaths in Ethiopia (4). Major factors contributed to the high spread of COVID-19 are the economic status of the populations (5), populations mobility and travel(6, 7), human behavior like stay at home, use of face masks, frequent handwashing practice, eye/mouse touching habits, and habit of using bar fingers to remove mucous from the nose (8), asymptomatic nature of segments of patients(9). Countries like Italia, Spain, and others are seriously harmed and paid value by the coronavirus. This was because of the negligence of the people in practicing of COVID-19 prevention instructions from the government(10, 11). By considering the urgency of the pandemic, this review aimed to provide evidence regarding public health implications of SARS-COV-2 while asymptomatic, which provide information for future research related to this topic and may support decision making on strategies to handle this public health emergency.