奥米克戎的平均潜伏期只有3.42天
As the novel virus has evolved to become more transmissible and virulent, it's also shortened its incubation period, according to a study out of two Beijing universities published Monday by the Journal of the American Medical Association. That means those who have been infected will experience symptoms more quickly (if they're going to experience symptoms at all).
The initial "wild type" strain of COVID detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 had an incubation period of around 5.2 days. COVID's Alpha variant—which burst onto the scene in the U.K. in December 2020—took about five days for symptoms to develop after exposure, according to the study.
By the time the Beta variant was discovered a short time later, the incubation period had shortened to 4.5 days. The Delta variant saw an incubation period of 4.41 days, and Omicron's incubation period is currently 3.42 days.