Patient who contracted COVID-19 in spring reinfected in September
There is one patient in Estonia who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) at the end of March and then gave a positive test again in September. Several other cases of suspected reinfection are being studied, ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported on Wednesday.
Deputy Director General of the Health Board Mari-Anne Härma said similar reports have been recorded all over the world.
"We have a few cases in Estonia and now individual cases are recorded around the world and in Europe showing that this is possible. This is also logical, because if we look at other coronaviruses, the immunity lasts three to six months. If the same logic applies to the new coronavirus, if a person is infected in March, then six months later they will be susceptible to the virus again," Härma told AK.
One of the biggest questions surrounding COVID-19 is whether a patient can become reinfected and how long any immunity from catching the disease will last. As the virus is still new, this has not been known until now.
Based on other common existing coronaviruses, it is reasonable to assume that the acquired immunity may not last longer than half a year, AK said.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Helen Wright
