Anyone who has recovered from Covid but experiences symptoms 29 days or more after that infection, should take a test and will need to isolate if they test positive. If it is 28 days or fewer since a recent infection, a test is not needed.
The chances of catching Covid twice are now much more likely as the new Omicron sub-variant BA.5 sweeps through Marlborough.
At the start of the pandemic, getting a double dose of Covid was highly unlikely, with data showing that just 1% of recorded cases were due to reinfection.
But new figures released by Covid-19 Modelling Aotearoa suggested that more than 10% of people infected with Covid will be reinfected by the end of the year.
Marlborough Girls’ College student Lauren Sloan, 17, was one of the unlucky ones to get struck down twice with the virus that disrupted the start of her new school year and her new football season.
MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall confirmed there would be no change to the traffic light settings.
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“I’ve had it twice. I’m double vaxxed and I had my second jab about two months before I got Covid the first time,” Sloan said.
And while most research suggests that a reinfection was likely to be milder than the first, Sloan said this wasn’t always the case.
“The first time wasn’t as bad, I just had a sore throat and a runny nose, but the second time I got it, it was a lot worse. I had a fever and a sore back and my symptoms were a lot worse,” Sloan said.
Sloan said she first tested positive on March 25, 2022, and then did so again 31 days later on April 25.
Lauren Sloan/Supplied
Marlborough Girls College student and Rangers AFC player Lauren Sloan has been infected by Covid twice already.
“The first time I got it, it was close to the start of the school year, so we were starting new subjects.
“At school, I had to miss out on a few internals at the start, which was hard because we were just starting to learn our new subjects, and I had to miss out, but I’ve managed to catch up now,” Sloan said.
Sloan, a keen footballer who plays for Blenheim’s Rangers AFC, said she made a full recovery after about a week and “felt fine” until symptoms returned three weeks later.
“The second time I had Covid was just before preseason training, before the season started, but I missed out because I had Covid.
BRYA INGRAM/STUFF
Sloan, seen here in action for Rangers AFC Blenheim women’s football team, said it took a while to get back to full fitness after suffering two bouts of Covid.
“When I came back, it (Covid) affected my breathing, it was harder to keep up with the running throughout the games.
“That lasted about a month after I’d had Covid. It’s better now, it’s not as bad as it was, I can last a game now,” Sloan said.
Being young, fit and healthy, Sloan agreed when asked if she felt unlucky to be struck down twice, but after making a full recovery, she said she had come to accept what happened.
“It was strange that I’d got it two times, but I don’t know, it is what it is,” Sloan said.
Ella Bates-Hermans/Stuff
Most people can expect to catch the other coronaviruses – such as those which cause common cold symptoms – many times.
At the end of June, the Ministry of Health changed its advice for testing for reinfection.
Now, anyone who has recovered from Covid but experiences symptoms 29 days or more after that infection, should take a test and will need to isolate if they test positive.
If it is 28 days or fewer since a recent infection, a test is not needed.
Up until now, people did not need to re-test if they had tested positive for Covid within the past 90 days.
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