Prior infection cuts risk for 10 months

The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity on Thursday, found that care home residents who had been previously infected with Covid-19 were approximately 85 percent less likely to be infected between October and February than those who had not been infected.

For staff, those with a past infection were around 60% less likely to become infected again.

"It's really good news that natural infection protects against reinfection in this time period. The risk of being infected twice appears to be very low," the study's lead researcher Maria Krutikov said.

The study involved 682 care home residents, with a median age of 86, and 1,429 staff in care homes. Tests conducted in June and July last year showed around a third were positive for the presence of coronavirus antibodies.