American man catches coronavirus twice

As a US man who has had COVID-19 twice, doctors warn that the second time around is much more dangerous than the first.

The 25-year-old from Nevada was taken to hospital after testing positive for a second time on the 5th of June and was unable to provide his body with enough oxygen. Reports now suggest that he has recovered.

The man, who had no previous health issues that would have made him a prime target for coronavirus, first gained symptoms in March and was confirmed on the 18th of April to have coronavirus. Throughout the rest of the spring season, his symptoms subsided and he was tested twice for the virus, testing negative on both tries.

By the end of May, coming into June, his initial symptoms returned along with an additional fever and dizziness, which was when he was tested again and found positive for COVID-19.

By analysing the genetic codes of the patients, doctors have determined that he caught a new infection of coronavirus rather than the initial infection resurfacing.

Although the reinfection rate of COVID-19 has been very rare on a global scale, Dr Mark Pandori from the University of Nevada said: "The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of Covid-19 immunity."

Experts suggest that as we are still in the early stages of the virus, there is much we do not know about coronavirus especially when it comes to reinfection and its consequences compared to the initial infection as well as the possibility of immunity.

As countries such as Iran, Spain, France, Israel and possibly the UK start entering the phases of a second wave of infections, scientists may gain a better understanding of the virus and the questions that are currently unanswerable.