Thread by @DrEricDing

🦠VIRUS REACTIVATION! This is bad: The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 51 patients labeled previously cured in SK are #COVID19 positive again. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

2) “Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC.” #COVID19

3) “While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Jeong said. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.” #COVID19

4) Fear of re-infection in recovered patients is also growing in China after reports that some tested #COVID19 positive again -- and even died -- after supposedly recovering and leaving hospital. some believe that the problem may lie in inconsistencies in test results.

5) A patient is deemed fully recovered when two tests conducted with a 24-hour interval show negative results.

The Korean CDC will conduct an epidemiological probe into the cases, Jeong said. #COVID19

6) Apparently this reactivation / recurrence is increasing daily in S Korea.

Increase in recurring #COVID19 case number:

6th April, 2020 : 51
9th April, 2020 : 74
10th April, 2020 : 91
news.v.daum.net/v/202004101416…

As mentioned earlier: 1 in 3 recovered patients have very low antibody levels or none at all. This could explain the reactivation among so many recovered #COVID19 patients. See previous thread 🧵:

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1247719681483509761?s=21

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1247719681483509761