Confirmed cases in Guernsey of people catching Covid-19 twice

Friday 05 February 2021

Globally, re-infection rates are still under-reported and rare, however there have been some cases of people in Guernsey catching corona virus twice.

The Director of Public Health confirmed re-infection cases during the latest media briefing.

At the end of 2020, the number of recorded cases of people getting re-infected worldwide was only in the hundreds, despite a global total of nearly 100 million cases of Covid-19.

It’s believed that reinfection cases are under-reported because the virus can linger in the system and simply be picked up again, meaning it isn’t another infection, just the same one.

Pictured: People who've had Covid-19 and recovered should still remain vigilant.

In October last year, an 89-year-old Dutch lady became the first recorded re-infection case.

The fact it can be picked up again means one bout of Covid shouldn’t be a reason to drop social distancing rules or discard the mask, with authorities saying it should  not be seen as an 'immunity passport'.

In many recorded cases of re-infection, the second bout is weaker. People have developed some antibodies and haven’t suffered as badly, but this immunity can wane over time.

“Yes there are [re-infection cases] and that’s not surprising,” said Dr Nicola Brink.

“People that had Covid early on can get it with a waning immunity and so, yes, we have had people who have recovered from Covid getting Covid again.”

Pictured: Dr Brink updated the public on cases in Guernsey at the latest CCA briefing.

Public Health continues to immunise the population, with 1,000 frontline staff due to get their second jab in the next 10 days. 

With community seeding continuing to be a concern and Guernsey having recorded 21 new cases in its latest daily stats - three of which were from unknown sources - Public Health continues to emphasise the importance of following guidance.