Leicester has returned to lockdown in the wake of coronavirus (Picture: PA)

Coronavirus has impacted every aspect of life across the world, with over 10 million people now known to have been infected and over 500,000 deaths as a result of the pandemic.

Covid-19 has also forced countries into lockdown as they attempt to curb the spread of the virus, with social distancing and wearing masks in public places becoming the ‘new normal’.

In the UK, over 43,000 people have died as a result of the virus, while lockdown measures which have been in place since the end of March are gradually being eased.

But there’s still a whole lot we don’t know about the new virus – such as, for example, can you catch it again if you’ve already had it?




Can you get coronavirus twice?

UPDATE: Scientists have claimed the first first confirmed case of a man being reinfected with two different versions of coronavirus.

Despite this, the virus is still so new that not a lot is known, and proven, as concrete fact yet.

Dr Babak Ashrafi at UK-based online doctor Zava previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘Because this strain of coronavirus is new, we don’t have enough data to understand how long our immunity lasts after initial infection.

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‘Experts are busy gathering information from those who have become infected to see how well their immune systems react and how long they’ll remain immune.

‘We do know that when you catch a virus, your body learns how to fight it off. Even after you’ve fully recovered your body is left with the ability to battle a virus and avoid developing symptoms again. However, like our minds, our bodies can forget over time how to do this and immunity can wear off over time after initial infection.’

Meanwhile a professor of emerging infectious diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, Eng Eong Ooi, also said that it’s too early to tell for sure, as he told USA Today it’s too soon to know how long people might be safe from coronavirus if their body has already fought it off.

He said: ‘Inflammation appears to be a cause of severe COVID-19. It also helps in the development of immunity.’

People have been urged to keep up the social distancing (Picture: PA)

However, he added: ‘Any conclusion will be premature, I fear. (We) will need studies.’

The director of pneumonia prevention and treatment at China Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, Li QinGyuan, is quoted in the publication as saying that the bodies of people who are infected generate antibodies to fight the virus.

However, Li also stressed how important it is for people who have had coronavirus to maintain good hygiene and wash their hands often, and said: ‘In certain individuals, the antibody cannot last that long.’

Li added that it may be possible for someone who’s had coronavirus to catch it again, saying, ‘For many patients who have been cured, there is a likelihood of relapse.’



Where have patients reportedly tested for coronavirus twice?

There have been reports of people testing positive twice in different countries across the world.

A 40-year-old woman from Osaka, Japan, was said to have caught the virus a second time in late February of this year.

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This followed several cases being of apparent ‘re-infection’ happening around China.

However, some of these cases were said to have been down to testing discrepancies.

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