![coronavirus]()
In a classic illustration of how COVID-19 testing works — or doesn’t work — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for coronavirus just hours before he was to meet with President Trump, Thursday, August 6, 2020, and then tested negative twice a few hours later.
The two opposing results are an example of how confusing the whole testing process is. In the first test, DeWine took what’s known as a rapid-result test. It showed him being positive for coronavirus. Later in the day he took a standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test that takes a little longer to give a result, but is known to be more accurate, and tested negative — twice.
His wife and staff tested negative too, but the whole scenario questions whether rapid-result tests should even be used. But no matter which test you take, having a common cold can confuse the results too, as there are seven different coronaviruses known to cause respiratory illness in humans, all of which can trigger a positive result, including the common cold.
The CDC admits this on its website, saying, “there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold."
SOURCES:
The New York Times August 6, 2020
CDC.gov Test for Past Infection, Updated June 30, 2020