Japanese coronavirus patient tests positive for a SECOND time two weeks after being let home from hospital

A Japanese man has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time, two weeks after he recovered from the deadly infection, The Daily Mail reports.

The man, who is in his 70s, was initially infected while on board the disease-ridden Diamond Princess cruise ship in February.

He was treated in a medical facility in Tokyo and returned to his home in Mie after tests for COVID-19 came back negative, local media report.

But not long after being told he was in the clear, the man fell ill with a fever and temperature of 39°C once again. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday.

It's not the first time a patient has been 'reinfected' with the bug, after a Japanese woman was diagnosed again two weeks after her recovery.

Experts expressed their concern that patients could possibly relapse, with the coronavirus germs lying undetected by testing.

But a study on monkeys, published today, suggests otherwise. The animals appeared to develop immunity against the virus after being infected with it in the lab.

Global cases of COVID-19 tipped 173,200 today. There have been more than 6,640 reported deaths.