As more people are gaining access to COVID-19 tests, doctors say they are encountering a troubling number of “false negatives" — test results that indicate patients aren’t sick, despite clear signs and symptoms of coronavirus infection. This phenomenon of “false negatives” is not new; no medical test is 100% accurate, but the stakes here are incredibly high. Some health experts have suggested the number of false-negative coronavirus tests could be up to 30%.
Health experts say they now believe nearly 1 in 3 patients who are infected are nevertheless getting a negative test result. That picture is troubling, many doctors say, as it casts doubt on the reliability of a wave of new tests developed by manufacturers, lab companies and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The unknown rates of false-negative results could leave patients with unjustified confidence that they can return to business as usual and could show that the nation’s view into the spread of the disease has a blind spot.
Wall Street Journal April 2, 2020
Boston Globe April 2, 2020