A Japanese woman has tested positive for coronavirus for the second time after recovering from the disease weeks ago, local government officials have said.
The woman, who works as a tour bus driver in Osaka, first tested positive for the deadly disease end of January and was discharged from hospital after recovering on February 1, according to the Guardian.
But on Wednesday, less than three weeks after she was cleared, she tested positive again after developing a sore throat and chest pains.
This is a first for Japan, but there have been second positive infections reported in China.
The Covid-19 outbreak has so far infected over 80,000 people and has killed over 2500, the majority of those in Mainland China.
"Once you have the infection, it could remain dormant and with minimal symptoms, and then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs," Philip Tierno, Professor of Microbiology and Pathology at NYU School of Medicine told the Guardian.
Tierno said much remains unknown about the virus.
"I'm not certain that this is not bi-phasic, like anthrax," he said, meaning the disease appears to go away, before coming back.