Four people have been reinfected with coronavirus in the Netherlands

Four people in the Netherlands have been reinfected with coronavirus for a second time. 

On Tuesday, the first confirmed reinfection in the Netherlands was announced, following similar cases in Hong Kong and Belgium. Now, the RIVM has confirmed that so far, four patients have experienced reinfection in the Netherlands alone.

All four patients are over sixty. The first person with a confirmed reinfection already had a compromised immune system. For three out of the four affected people, there was a few months between infections. For one, there was only a few days between infections– yes, you read that right. One patient recovered from coronavirus, and only a few days later got reinfected.

For all four patients, it was shown that the second infection had a slightly different virus “blueprint” than the first. Proving this is necessary for a reinfection to be confirmed.

These people are likely exceptions, says virologist Marion Koopmans, who works for the OMT and is an advisor to the WHO. On Tuesday, she told RTL Nieuws that most people who get coronavirus do produce antibodies which protect them from reinfection, at least for several months. So although these cases seem worrying, Koopmans is not yet concerned.

You can follow DutchReview on Facebook for more updates on coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Ailish Lalor
Ailish Lalor
Ailish was born in Sydney, Australia, but grew up by a forest in south-east Ireland, which she has attempted to replace with a living room filled with plants in The Hague. Besides catering to her army of pannenkoekenplantjes, Ailish spends her days convincing her friends that all food is better slightly burnt, plotting ways to hang out with dogs and cats, and of course, writing for DutchReview.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related posts

Latest posts

This Dutch city is ditching fireworks completely on NYE: Here’s the replacement

Have you ever experienced a New Year’s without fireworks? Yep, that might seem impossible to most people in the Netherlands — but not much...

Dutch princess Alexia just switched study programmes: Here’s what she’s studying now

Enthusiastically beginning a Bachelor's degree only to start hating it after a couple of months and quickly switching to a better fit is a...

Learn to speak Dutch at ‘werk’ with Taalthuis’s in-company courses

Confused about why your Dutch colleague laughed when you said, “Ik ben heet” (I am hot)? Well, you basically told them, “I am sexy*”....

It's happening

Upcoming events