Approximately 3 to 10 percent of patients who recovered from the coronavirus tested positive again after being released from the hospital, according to studies conducted in Wuhan, the South China Morning Post has reported.
The study has heightened importance, because researchers worldwide are attempting to figure out if patients who have recovered can continue to infect others and if their bodies are now immune to the virus.
Adding to the significance of the studies is that China has considerably more recovered patients than new confirmed ones, with 90 percent of the mainland’s infected patients already discharged from hospitals.
However, the studies have a relatively small sample size.
Tongji Hospital president Wang Wei said that only five of the 147 recovered patients ( 3%) in one study tested positive after recovery.
He stressed that “So far there is no evidence to suggest that they are infectious,” adding that 80-90% had no trace of the coronavirus in their blood one month after being released from hospitals.
Other reports from health authorities in Wuhan have indicated that that some 5 to 10 percent of the recovered patients in the city’s quarantine facilities tested positive a second time.
Some experts, however, have raised doubts about the veracity of the tests due to the sensitivity and stability of the nucleic acid test kits, as well as the collection and handling of samples from the patients.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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