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.

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