After China's declaration that they have triumphed over the coronavirus, and many have recovered. Several recovered Wuhan patients are testing positive again.
The accuracy of their medical tools that are used to assess the patients is under question, in light of resurfacing COVID-19 infections. As quarantine is about to get lifted, a second wave threatens to overwhelm them.
The City of Wuhan had no new infection from the bug from March 18-22 after over 80,000 Chinese got the virus.
However, despite the high number of recoveries, it appears that these people can still get a re-infection despite the best efforts to cure them. An estimate of 5 to 10% of the survivors are threatened by reinfection, as the COVID-19 seems to have never left them, but are just in slumber inside the body.
Four resurgent cases that were cured before
NPR has talked to four people who were re-tested in March. All tested positive for the disease again.
Resurgent patients are two doctors and two Wuhan residents who did not want to be identified.
One of the Wuhan residents had severe symptoms in the first bout with COVID-19 and had treatment. The second had milder symptoms and got placed in the emergency tents at the worst of the outbreak.
Their condition resurged on Sunday, March 22 when they were tested as positive with a re-asserting virus, but experienced none of the normal symptoms (fever, dry cough). The time of recovery and release as well as their re-tests were done in different periods.
Whether the resurgent of second-timers lead to the next wave of COVID-19, virologists are not sure yet. Medical experts are debating and are unsure what to assume at this time.
In the recent COVID-19 preventive guidelines, China does not count resurgent COVID-19 cases when formerly cured. Also, the asymptomatic cases are not included in counting the coronavirus cases.
Are Chinese coronavirus kits defective?
According to Wang Chen, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the tests used are accurate at 30 to 50% mostly. But, Dr Jeffrey Shaman of the Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University, told NPR that "there are false positives with these types of tests."
If the test kits are accurate, it's possible that these people were just reinfected with the virus.
Is the claim of China's containment reliable?
With the decreasing number of cases in Wuhan, it has relaxed its lockdown measures which had been running for two months. The quarantine measures will be ended on April 8 when residents are already allowed to leave the municipality.
However, they cannot leave without screening. Only those who test negative are allowed to go. But doctors are worried that some people can leave with undetected virus because of the high number of false negatives.
Are asymptomatic cases worrisome?
Chinese media outletCaixin reports that they are seeing many cases of recovered Wuhan patients who are testing positive again as well cases of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, as reported by Asymptomatic carriers of the virus can pass it to anyone they have close contact with like their families
"In terms of those who retested positive, the official party line is that they have not been proven to be infectious. That is not the same as saying they are not infectious," said a Wuhan doctor who tested positive twice. He added that those who are not infectious can go home instead of being confined to the hospital.
Related article: Coronavirus Reinfection Possible, Can Be Fatal a Second Time
