Recovered patients testing positive again
The BBC News in the UK reported on 27 February that patients who had tested negative for coronavirus subsequently tested positive – at a rate of around 14%:
Chinese health officials say that about 14% of people who had the coronavirus but recovered and were discharged from hospital have tested positive for the virus again.
Health officials admit they’re still learning about the new coronavirus and how it operates within the human body.
The same phenomenon has been reported in Japan, when a woman in her 40s who had recovered and tested negative for the virus then tested positive more than three weeks later.
The authorities in both countries have pledged to continue tracking former patients, even after they’ve been discharged from hospital.
BBC News YouTube Channel
It is not known if the virus was re-contracted, or simply “bi-phasic” meaning it goes dormant for a period, before re-emerging. It is also not known if, in this case, the patient can spread the virus during the second phase.
Clearly, there is much to learn about Covid-19.
UPDATE: Chinese doctors told the international community, they felt it was “most likely” that reinfected patients had in fact produced a “false negative” test result before. See the full story, here.