신규확진 줄었지만…방역당국 괴롭히는 ‘재양성’ 사례
A concerning number of recovered COVID-19 patients here in the nation tested positive again.
For now, the KCDC is carrying out investigations to find out the exact cause of this phenomenon.
Lee Kyung-eun sheds light on some possible theories.
As of Friday, South Korea has reported 1-hundred-63 reconfirmed cases. Roughly half of these patients showed some mild symptoms of COVID-19.
“Reconfirmed cases have not been seen in previous coronavirus outbreaks like SARS or MERS. I would say that what we’re fighting, COVID-19, is highly vicious.”
So far, there’s no scientific explanation for the reconfirmed cases, but experts suggest three theories.
First, a patient could get re-infected.
Second, dead pieces of the virus were detected by the testing kit.
Third, the virus remained in the patient and was reactivated due to a weakened immune system.
“The third theory is most plausible. First, re-infection is not a plausible approach given that the infection rate in the country is not high compared to other places. Second, there are patients who were reconfirmed several weeks after recovering, but dead virus particles are not likely to survive that long.”
At this point, it is unclear whether reconfirmed patients are contagious,…but the possibility cannot be entirely excluded either.
Amid the uncertainty, there are a few things the country can do while looking for a solution to this issue.
Patients need to monitor their health for a longer period and should self-quarantine for at least two weeks upon release.
And government analysis can help manage these patients.
“The government can analyze patterns as in which type of patients are more prone to get reconfirmed are they with pre-existing conditions or elderly people? This could help them better manage such patients.”
As of Friday, patients in their 20s and 50s were the two most prominent groups.
But the correlation between age and reconfirmation has not been confirmed, and identifying any viable pattern could take some time as related data is limited.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
#COVID19 #SouthKorea #outbreak
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