A Japanese man who recovered after testing positive for coronavirus aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship caught the bug a second time at home, according to a new report.
The man, in his 70s, first tested positive for COVID-19 Feb. 14 while on board the vessel off the coast of Yokohama, Japanese news agency NHK reported.
He was confirmed negative for the bug on March 2, and was allowed to take public transportation home from the Tokyo medical facility where he was staying to western Japan’s Mie prefecture, according to the report.
But it wasn’t long before he started to feel sick again, and developed a fever of about 102 degrees on Thursday, according to the report.
He went to the hospital Friday, and was confirmed to be infected again on Saturday.
Officials in the prefecture are tracing his recent activities and checking all those who recently had contact with him.
Late last month, a Japanese woman who worked as a tour bus guide also tested positive for coronavirus a second time.
The woman, who is in her 40s and lives in Osaka, western Japan, tested positive Feb. 26 after developing a sore throat and chest pains, according to officials there.
She initially tested positive in late January and was discharged after recovering on Feb. 1, officials said.
Philip Tiero Jr., professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU School of Medicine, told Reuters that “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.”
Tiero said it’s unclear if the virus is “bi-phasic, like anthrax,” meaning it appears to go away before recurring.
The widespread illness has infected more than 189,000 people worldwide and has caused at least 7,500 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.
With Post wires