''NO EVIDENCE'' YET THAT RECOVERED CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS ARE IMMUNE TO REINFECTION - WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that there is no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are immune from a second infection.
Governments and researchers have speculated that people who survive an infection may develop antibodies that can attack the virus and prevent any future infection.
UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson received heavy criticism when he touted the idea of "herd immunity" to curtail the spread of the novel Coronavirus in his country.
"Herd immunity" is when most of the population in a community gets infected with a virus, survives it, and builds up immunity to it.
Countries are considering granting "immunity passports" to residents who have recovered from Covid-19, a pass that would exclude the bearer from restrictive protection measures and freedom to work outside the house.
Health officials presume that coronavirus survivors have built antibodies and are immune to the virus.
However, the World Health Organisation warns that "there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection."
WHO, in a statement, warned against issuing "Immunity Passports" or "risk-free certificates" to people who have contracted the Coronavirus, saying the practice may increase the spread of the virus.
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Last week, Chile said it would begin handing out "health passports" to persons who have recovered From the illness.
The United Nations Agency explained that even though people appear to have synthesized antibodies to the COVID-19 virus upon their recovery, it is unknown if these antibodies in the blood are enough to stop future infection.
It said: "At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an "immunity passport" or "risk-free" certificate.
The world health body express fear that people "who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice."
"The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission."
The number of Coronavirus infections in the world has surpassed 3 million cases with over 200,000 fatalities.
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