Evidence is emerging people build an immune response to COVID-19 after shaking the virus but it’s unclear how long the defence lasts, Australian National University epidemiologist Dr Meru Sheel says.
“We think that those people are immune, they’ve developed an immune response and they are protected,” Dr Sheel told Sky News.
“We don’t know how long the immunity would last yet.”
Dr Sheel said it was “safe” for recovered patients to return to the community but should maintain social distancing and hand hygiene measures as a precaution.
When asked about lifting social distancing and public health protocols, the infectious diseases expert said Australia would risk a “resurgence” of COVID-19 capable of putting the country “back to square one” as long as cases exist.
“As long as we have cases in the community, in the world, we have to maintain strong public health response to be able to trace and contain any case and any small clusters,” she said.
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