The virus can be detected during the incubation period of novel coronavirus pneumonia, but the incubation period is usually 1-14 days, so the patient may not have any clinical manifestations during this 1-2 week period. The so-called incubation period is the time between the virus entering the body and the onset of the disease. During the incubation period, the patient’s secretions may already contain a large amount of virus, including pharyngeal swabs, blood, feces and secretions, and the viral nucleic acid test is likely to be positive, leading to the diagnosis of novel coronavirus pneumonia infection. However, due to the lack of symptoms, many patients will not notice the disease, and some close contacts may be too worried to get tested, which can detect it before the incubation period. However, it is usually not taken seriously enough to get tested. Source: Dr. Yurai