Hong Kong was the first recorded case of re-infection, and since then there have been less than 10 confirmed cases investigated and registered, and none of the re-infected patients have displayed any significant symptoms to date, some of which have even been asymptomatic. However as the virus progressed, many cases of people getting re-infected with COVID-19 have sprouted in different regions of the world. In India, reinfection cases have also been reported in Telangana and Maharashtra, along with cases worldwide in countries such as Hong Kong, the US, the Netherlands, and Belgium. While doctors and healthcare experts are worried about this, they are trying to understand what it means for the future of healthcare and what precautions people can take to stay safe. 

Scientists confirm that antibodies are not a way to keep the virus at bay. A study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) explains that data to date suggest that a person who has had and recovered from COVID-19 may have low levels of the virus in their body for up to 3 months after diagnosis. This means that if the person recovering from COVID-19 is retested within 3 months of the initial infection, even if they do not spread COVID-19, they will continue to have a positive test result. To date, there are no reported reports of a person being re-infected within 3 months of initial infection with COVID-19. Additional research is underway, however. Therefore, if a person who has recovered from COVID-19 has new symptoms of COVID-19, he or she might need a reinfection assessment, especially if he or she has been in close contact with someone who has been infected with COVID-19. The person should be separated and contacted by a healthcare provider to be examined and likely retested for other causes of their symptoms.

It has been assumed that people who have a very weakened immune system or in general lower levels of immunity may be more at risk of re-infection. Also, false positives during the first “infection” tests may also be a contributing factor to the “re-infection” statistics. So people must focus on building a strong immune system through daily exercise, eating nutritionally packed meals (includes proteins, vitamins, fibers, and minerals) and good fluid intake, and follow the lockdown measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitization.