Coronavirus reinfection can take place, ICMR admits; adds 'it is a rare occurrence'

While admitting that reinfection of COVID-19 is possible, ICMR Director General Dr.Balram Bhargava on Tuesday revealed that it is a very rare occurrence. To buttress his point about reinfection, he highlighted some cases of Measles. At the same time, he explained that wherever reinfection occurs, both infections are usually mild. Currently, there are 49,30,236 novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 38,59,399 patients have recovered while 80,776 fatalities have been reported. 

ICMR Director General Dr.Balram Bhargava remarked, "Reinfection is very very rare with COVID-19. But we have seen reinfections occur in the case of Measles. When someone gets Measles, he is supposed to be protected all his life because it generates certain antibodies. But, we have seen reinfection in Measles as well. Similarly, we can have reinfection with COVID-19 as seen in the case in Hong Kong. One point has been noted- whenever reinfection occurs, both infections have been mild, and therefore, reinfection occurs."

Read: 14-29 Lakh COVID-19 Cases, 37-78k Deaths Prevented By Lockdown: Govt

The fears about reinfection were confirmed when a 33-year-old Chinese national contracted COVID-19 in late August, 4 and a half months after he first tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Thereafter, a case of reinfection in Nevada, USA came to the fore. On August 26, the Telangana recorded two reinfection cases. Recently, the Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru announced that a 27-year-old woman who had recovered from COVID-19 in July had tested positive again. With no co-morbidities, she had a mild infection on both occasions. 

COVID-19 crisis in India

With 79,292 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 recovery rate soared to 78.28%. At present, the recovered cases outnumber active cases by 28,69,338. About half of the 9,90,061 active cases are concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated that there are 14 states and Union Territories in India where the total number of active cases is less than 5000.

He mentioned that the country's average positivity rate is 8.4%. Bhushan also refuted the notion that there is a shortage of oxygen. Noting that the current capacity for production of oxygen is slightly more than 6,900 metric tonne, he acknowledged that problems happen owing to a lack of inventory management at a facility-level. He urged every state to ensure proper inventory management so that oxygen can be replenished in time. 

Read: Maharashtra's Daily Average COVID Deaths Doubled From July To Sept: Union Health Ministry