Having spent time at homes or working with corona-affected persons, many people think that they already have had the deadly virus. The fact that many Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic or do have very mild symptoms further reiterates this belief.
As the result, they feel that they are immune to the infection. A study in UK has warned that this attitude is more dangerous as they may tend to overlook the lockdowns and can contribute to transmission. The study also warned that more people will feel the same as the time goes and in turn will endanger others.
“Clear communications to this growing group are needed to explain why protective measures continue to be important and to encourage sustained adherence,” writes the team led by Louise Smith (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London).
It may be noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned against this attitude. It was stated clearly that there is no evidence yet that previously infected individuals can not catch COVID-19 more than once and be infectious again.
The study was done through an online cross-sectional survey and collected data between 20th and 22nd April to find out that whether people who think they have already been infected tend not to follow social distancing rules as strictly as those who do not think they have. The study included 6,149 individuals living in the UK who were aged 18 years or older.
About one quarter (24.3%) thought they had had COVID-19, despite only 4.0% having reported that they had tested positive for the infection.
The researchers warn that the number of people who believe they have had COVID-19 will only increase as time goes on and that it is essential to understand how this impacts behaviours.
