Korea reports suspected case of coronavirus reinfection
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South Korean heath authorities are studying what may be the nation's first case of a coronavirus reinfection, found in a woman in her 20s, officials said Saturday.
"Research on a suspected reinfection case is under way in the country," Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said in a press briefing.
The patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March and released from isolation after recovery, but was confirmed to be infected again in early April. he said.
The authorities believe the woman was likely infected through different routes, but more study is needed to reach a conclusion, Kwon said.
"We believe that each infection came from a different cluster, as have happened in other reinfection cases in foreign countries," he said.
There have been hundreds of Korean patients who tested positive a second time after recovery. Experts did not regard them as reinfections, saying dead virus fragments remaining in the patients' bodies were likely detected in the tests.
South Korea reported 110 more virus cases on Saturday, with the majority tied to local cluster infections. The total caseload came to 22,893. (Yonhap)