Number of South Korea coronavirus patients testing positive again AFTER recovering jumps to 116 amid second wave fears
THE number of coronavirus patients being tested positive a second time has surged as fears grow the infection can "reactivate" inside victims.
At least 116 patients previously given the all-clear from the disease have now been tested positive again in South Korea.
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Medics are still attempting to establish the cause of apparent relapses - but experts have said it may suggest the virus can reactivate.
South Korea has been one of the most effective nations at controlling the outbreak - reporting just 25 new cases on Monday.
The suspected reactivations - four times higher than the total new cases - may cast doubt over whether Seoul will be able to ease its lockdown
Global case figures have now surged towards 2million with almost 120,000 deaths as doctors still try to understand the coronavirus.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has said the virus may have reactivated rather than the patients getting re-infected.
Other experts have said faulty tests may be playing a role.
It also has been suggested that remnants of the virus may still be in patients’ systems but not be infectious or dangerous.
The 116 "reactivations" is more than double the 51 such cases the nation reported a week earlier.
South Korea's 25 new cases however is the lowest since the outbreak first appeared in the country back in February.
Mr Jeong said: "While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this.
"There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another."
World Health Organisation officials are now rushing to investigate the cases - requesting samples from the patients for testing.
In a statement, WHO said: "We are aware of these reports of individuals who have tested negative for COVID-19 using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing and then after some days testing positive again.
"We are closely liaising with our clinical experts and working hard to get more information on those individual cases.
"It is important to make sure that when samples are collected for testing on suspected patients, procedures are followed properly.
"As Covid-19 is a new disease, we need more epidemiological data to draw any conclusions."
It is understood that coronavirus patients normally have around a two week period from the onset of symptoms to complete recovery.
Coronavirus patients are typically required to test negative twice before being allowed to leave quarantine.
Cases where a patient is tested positive again are suspected by some to simply be the result of faulty tests.
The coronavirus tests currently available produce an incorrect results roughly one in five times.
It is currently thought that patients will remain immune from the disease in at least the medium-term once they have recovered.
Scientists have said previous reports of people becoming reinfected are concerning, but that much more evidence needs to be collected before conclusions can be drawn.
Speaking to , Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases professor at the University of East Anglia, said: "I agree that these will not be reinfections but I do not think these will be reactivations.
"Personally I think the most likely explanation is that the clearance samples were false negative."
Speaking in February, Mark Harris, Professor of Virology at the University of Leeds, said: "Clearly we need more information about these patients, such as were there underlying medical conditions or a change in circumstances that might have allowed the virus to escape immune control?
"This highlights the need for more research into the biology of the new coronavirus.
"It is very much early days in our efforts to understand it.”
More than 450,000 people have recovered from coronavirus worldwide.
But the virus continues to spread, with the US being the worst impacted nation in the world at almost 600,000 cases.
South Korea was one of the first nations hit by the virus which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
However, it managed to weather the storm as it came through the outbreak with just over 10,000 cases and 222 deaths.
South Korea plans to send 600,000 coronavirus testing kits to the US following a request from US President Donald Trump.
The local government is urging people to continue to follow lockdown guidelines.
Residents must follow strict social distancing rules until at least April 19.
However, a growing number of people have been found to be flouting the guidelines as the case numbers drop and the weather improves.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun assured citizens the guidelines will be soon be eased - but urged people to carry on obeying the rules.
He said: "Later this week, we plan to review our intensive social distancing campaign that we have carried out so far and discuss whether we will switch to routine safety measures."
The PM added however life will not return to normal even with the easing of restrictions.
Mr Chung said: "We need a very cautious approach because any premature easing of social distancing could bring irreversible consequences, and have to ponder deeply about when and how we switch to the new system."
South Korea's use of widespread testing is believed to be a key reason in their success in containing the outbreak - with more than 500,000 carried out from a nation of 51million.
The nation will also head to the polls tomorrow for an unusual election amid the pandemic.
It is believed the government's handling of the crisis will give President Moon Jae-in's party a big boost among voters.
Mr Moon has said he has shared phone-calls with at least 20 world leaders seeking South Korea's advice on how to handle the outbreak.
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WHO have also praised the nation for its efforts in containment, with South Korea once being the worst impacted outside of China.
Officials have urged citizens to remain vigilant amid fears a larger epidemic could emerge in a second wave once lockdown eases.
Vice health minister Kim Gang-lip said: "We are taking great caution against any optimistic expectations with this one-off figure."
Meanwhile, Britain is expected to extend its lockdown another three weeks as the death toll surged to over 11,000 with almost 90,000 cases.