Denise Van Outen tests positive for Covid-19 antibodies – despite never having symptoms
TOWIE voiceover star and Celebrity Gogglebox favourite Denise Van Outen revealed she has coronavirus antibodies but never suffered from symptoms
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Denise Van Outen has revealed how she could have caught coronavirus asymptomatically after testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies.
The Celebrity Gogglebox favourite, who is back in the studio recording the voiceover for the new series of TOWIE, went to have a fingerprick test yesterday, which came back showing her body has made antibodies for the killer virus.
Denise never suffered from the usual symptoms – a persistent cough, temperature, loss of sense of smell and taste – and believes she picked it up a few months ago without knowing.
Documenting the quick two-minute test on her Instagram, Denise showed Dr Daniel Hunt of Imperial Aesthetics pricking her finger, squeezing out a drop of blood and testing it.
Just 15 minutes later, the results came back as positive for the existence of antibodies – which the body makes in a bid to fight infection.
“Turns out I’ve had Covid 19 and I had no idea,” she wrote on her Insta Story.
Her makeup artist Lyndsey Harrison had also tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies the week before, and urged Denise to get her own blood checked for peace of mind.
The Covid antibody test is now available privately for a fee, or for free for NHS staff and carers, as well as some hospital patients and care home residents.
It is different from the swap test taken from the nose and throat when someone suspects they have the virus, and the antibody test is not yet fully reliable as some people who have been sick with Covid won’t have antibodies.
It is also not yet clear whether someone who has antibodies is then immune from catching Covid-19 again, and even those with antibodies present in their blood must still follow the social distancing guidelines.
MirrorCeleb