Chinese medical expert warns recovered coronavirus patients may still be contagious
- Head of frontline team fighting Covid-19 says some patients have been found to still carry the virus after getting better
- Scientists believe there is a low risk of this happening, but there is still much to learn about the disease
A Chinese respiratory expert at the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 has warned that recovered patients may still be able pass on the coronavirus that causes the disease.
Zhao Jianping, head of a team working to contain the outbreak in Hubei, said there had been cases where patients still tested positive after they had recovered.
“This is dangerous. Where do you put those patients? You cannot send them home because they might infect others, but you cannot put them in hospital as resources are stretched,” Zhao told Southern People Weekly on Thursday.
Researchers said it was too early to say whether this would happen because there much to learn about the new virus, but in theory the risk should be low.
In a separate interview with The Beijing News on Wednesday, Zhao said one of his patients had been discharged from hospital after two laboratory tests proved negative. But several days later the patient came down with a fever, and this time tested positive again.