False negatives can surface in cases where the test is administered incorrectly, or the sample is mishandled on the way to the lab. “All tests have a chance of false negatives.”
If a person is exposed to COVID-19, it is vital to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Medical experts say all evidence suggest the coronavirus tests becoming steadily more available are reliable. But as with any medical test, the coronavirus test cannot be expected to be accurate 100% of the time, so they still advise that people who test negative, if their symptoms are consistent with those of COVID-19, should consider getting re-tested and continue to quarantine until asymptomatic.
It is too soon to know how many tests are producing false negatives. Molecular tests for viruses like the ones commonly being used for COVID-19 generally have very high sensitivities. According to the CDC, the same kinds of tests used for flu have a sensitivity in the range of 90-95%. “Unfortunately, we have very little public data on the false-negative rate for these tests in clinical practice,”. “Research coming out of China indicates that the false-negative rate may be around 30 percent. Some of my colleagues, experts in laboratory medicine, express concerns the false-negative rate in this country could be even higher.”
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