Health
Why are some COVID test results false positives, and how common are they? – The Conversation AU
We’ve learnt two cases linked to Melbourne’s COVID outbreak were in fact ‘false positives’. Here’s what that means, why it can happen, and how common it is.
Two COVID-19 cases previously linked to Melbournes current outbreak have now been reclassified as false positives.
Theyre no longer included in Victorias official case counts, while a number of exposure sites linked to these cases have been removed.
The main and gold standard test for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
The RT-PCR test is highly specific. That is, if someone truly doesnt have the infection,…
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