Almost 200 recovered coronavirus patients in South Korea test positive again

At least 179 "recovered" people in South Korea have tested positive for coronavirus again.
At least 179 "recovered" people in South Korea have tested positive for coronavirus again.(Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

While scientists try to determine whether people can develop coronavirus antibodies that make them immune, almost 200 people in South Korea are fighting off the infection for a second time.
Sixteen new patients have tested positive again after they were released from quarantine, South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Sunday. That brings the total to 179 out of the 8,042 patients who have recovered so far, according to KCDC director Jung Eun-Kyeong.
Eun-kyeong previously suggested that the virus may have been re-activated after going dormant, rather than the patients being reinfected.
More than 10,000 people in South Korea have tested positive for coronavirus so far. Of those, at least 234 have died.
The World Health Organization warned Friday that long-term immunity to coronavirus may not be possible, even after an infection.
“Nobody is sure whether someone with antibodies is fully protected against having the disease or being exposed again,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, said.
“Plus some of the tests have issues with sensitivity. They may give a false negative result.”
This follows concerns that the world could see a second wave of coronavirus in the fall or that the disease could be seasonal, like the flu.

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